CVE-2026-5144

What is known

The BuddyPress Groupblog plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.9.3. This is due to the group blog settings handler accepting the `groupblog-blogid`, `default-member`, and `groupblog-silent-add` parameters from user input without proper authorization checks. The `groupblog-blogid` parameter allows any group admin (including Subscribers who create their own group) to associate their group with any blog on the Multisite network, including the main site (blog ID 1). The `default-member` parameter accepts any WordPress role, including `administrator`, without validation against a whitelist. When combined with `groupblog-silent-add`, any user who joins the attacker's group is automatically added to the targeted blog with the injected role. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to escalate any user (including themselves via a second account) to Administrator on the main site of the Multisite network.

Business impact

Successful exploitation of CVE-2026-5144, a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.8) affecting the affected product, may affect the confidentiality, integrity or availability of the vulnerable environment. The exact impact depends on the installed version, exposed interfaces and deployment configuration.

Recommended administrator action

Confirm whether the affected product is present and compare installed versions with the vendor advisory and NVD record. Apply the vendor patch or documented mitigation; until remediation is complete, reduce exposure of affected interfaces, review relevant logs and monitor for indicators of exploitation. DataHouse can support version verification, managed patching, network exposure reduction, log review and backup validation for dedicated, cloud and colocated environments.

Sources

• NVD
• Reference
• Reference
• Reference
• Reference
• Reference
• Reference
• Reference
• Reference