{"id":"CVE-2026-104768","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-104768"],"related":[],"title":"AutomatorWP WordPress plugin: comment approval lets attackers create administrator accounts","description":"The AutomatorWP – No-Code Workflow Automation, Integration & Webhooks Plugin, now with AI plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 6.0.4. This is due to missing privilege-ceiling validation in the `create_user()` function within the anonymous-user action (and equally in the Create User and Add/Change Role WordPress-integration actions), which verify only that the submitted role exists via `automatorwp_get_editable_roles()` without confirming the role falls at or below the acting context's privilege level — allowing attacker-controlled trigger tag data (e.g., a `{comment_author}` tag bound to the Role option) to supply any role, including `administrator`, unchallenged. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to create a new administrator-role account tied to an attacker-controlled email address, receiving the generated password via WordPress's new-user notification email and thereby gaining full administrative access to the site. Exploitation requires the site to have an anonymous automation configured with the Role option bound to a dynamic trigger tag such as `{comment_author}`, and is triggered when a site administrator performs the routine action of approving a comment — an action that provides no in-UI indication that it will mint a new privileged account from the comment author field.","summary":"The AutomatorWP WordPress plugin, up to and including 6.0.4, does not check that a role assigned by an automation is at or below the privilege of the acting context. An unauthenticated attacker can post a comment that makes an admin approval create a new administrator account tied to an email they control, giving full control of the site.","severity":"high","cvss":7.5,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[{"name":"automatorwp","fixed":["6.0.5"],"affected":"<= 6.0.4","ecosystem":"wordpress"}],"ecosystems":[],"tags":["automatorwp","package","privilege-escalation","wordpress","wordpress-plugins"],"not_affected_if":["fixed-role-option","no-anonymous-automation","plugin-not-installed"],"how_to_check":"- WordPress admin > Plugins: AutomatorWP version 6.0.4 or lower is affected; 6.0.5+ has the role-assignment hardening.\n- Look for automations with an anonymous user (or Create User / Add-Change Role) action whose Role option uses a dynamic tag such as {comment_author}; if none, the issue is not reachable.\n- Until updated, remove such automations or set the Role to a fixed low-privilege role, and review Users for unexpected administrators.","fix":"Update AutomatorWP to 6.0.5 or later (changelog: 'Security improvements to role assignment across all actions that can modify user roles').","status":"open","published_at":"2026-11-07T12:17:41+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-07T12:47:08+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-11-07T12:48:48+00:00","updated_at":"2026-11-07T12:53:36+00:00","category":"package","confidence":0.8,"triage":{"at":"2026-11-07T12:48:48Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"unknown","reach":"internet","title":"AutomatorWP WordPress plugin: comment approval lets attackers create administrator accounts","impact":"high","summary":"The AutomatorWP WordPress plugin, up to and including 6.0.4, does not check that a role assigned by an automation is at or below the privilege of the acting context. An unauthenticated attacker can post a comment that makes an admin approval create a new administrator account tied to an email they control, giving full control of the site.","audience":"businesses","category":"package","nicknames":[],"who_cares":["wordpress","automatorwp","wordpress-plugins"],"confidence":0.7,"fix_status":"unknown","needs_auth":"no","worst_case":"Attacker gets full administrator access to the WordPress site.","analyst_note":"Confirm the fixed version of AutomatorWP (the sources give none beyond 'up to and including 6.0.4') at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-104768 or the plugin's changelog.","how_to_check":"- Check the installed AutomatorWP version; versions up to and including `6.0.4` are affected.\n- Look for anonymous automations whose Role option uses the dynamic tag `{comment_author}`.","plain_action":"","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["no-anonymous-automation","plugin-not-installed"],"who_is_affected":"Sites running AutomatorWP up to and including 6.0.4 that have an anonymous automation with the Role option bound to {comment_author}. The exposure requires a site administrator to approve a comment from the attacker. Sites without the plugin or without such an automation are not exposed.","user_interaction":"yes","needs_special_setup":"yes","severity_if_unknown":"high"},"cost_usd":0.001154,"input_tokens":4563,"output_tokens":1396,"severity_before":"high"},"analyst_status":"done","analyst_note":"Confirm the fixed version of AutomatorWP (the sources give none beyond 'up to and including 6.0.4') at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-104768 or the plugin's changelog.","search":"'-104768':13A,16A '-2026':12A,15A '6.0.4':35B,113C 'access':238C 'account':10A,72B,212C,297C 'act':54B,169C 'action':133C,146C,276C,282C 'add/change':141C 'address':220C 'admin':66B 'administr':9A,71B,196C,210C,237C,272C 'administrator-rol':209C 'ai':97C 'allow':174C 'anonym':131C,249C 'anonymous-us':130C 'approv':5A,67B,278C 'assign':42B 'attack':7A,58B,176C,204C,217C 'attacker-control':175C,216C 'author':184C,265C,301C 'autom':45B,91C,250C 'automatorwp':1A,17A,18B,28B,86C,156C 'bound':186C,256C 'ceil':121C 'check':38B 'code':89C 'comment':4A,62B,183C,264C,280C,300C 'configur':251C 'confirm':161C 'context':55B,170C 'control':78B,81B,177C,218C 'creat':8A,68B,125C,138C,206C 'cve':11A,14A 'data':180C 'due':116C 'dynam':259C 'e.g':181C 'edit':158C 'email':76B,219C,232C 'equal':135C 'escal':22B,105C 'exist':154C 'exploit':242C 'fall':164C 'field':302C 'full':80B,236C 'function':127C 'gain':235C 'generat':223C 'get':157C 'give':79B 'in-ui':286C 'includ':34B,112C,195C 'indic':289C 'integr':92C,145C 'let':6A 'level':173C 'make':64B,199C 'mint':293C 'miss':118C 'new':70B,208C,229C,295C 'new-us':228C 'no-cod':87C 'notif':231C 'option':190C,255C 'packag':19B 'password':224C 'perform':273C 'plugin':3A,26B,30B,94C,98C 'possibl':201C 'post':60B 'privileg':21B,51B,104C,120C,172C,296C 'privilege-ceil':119C 'privilege-escal':20B 'provid':284C 'receiv':221C 'requir':243C 'role':41B,142C,153C,159C,163C,189C,194C,211C,254C 'routin':275C 'site':84B,241C,245C,271C 'submit':152C 'suppli':192C 'tag':179C,185C,261C 'therebi':234C 'tie':73B,213C 'trigger':178C,260C,268C 'ui':288C 'unauthent':57B,203C 'unchalleng':197C 'user':126C,132C,139C,230C 'valid':122C 'verifi':148C 'version':108C 'via':155C,225C 'vulner':102C 'webhook':93C 'within':128C 'without':160C 'wordpress':2A,23B,25B,29B,100C,144C,226C 'wordpress-integr':143C 'wordpress-plugin':24B 'workflow':90C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":"Sites running AutomatorWP up to and including 6.0.4 that have an anonymous automation with the Role option bound to {comment_author}. The exposure requires a site administrator to approve a comment from the attacker. Sites without the plugin or without such an automation are not exposed.","tier":"B","verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"fix_status":"available","audience":"businesses","plain_action":null,"pkeys":["automatorwp"],"ptokens":["automatorwp"],"labels":["automatorwp","high","package","privilegeescalation","wordpress","wordpressplugins"],"campaign_type":null,"search_a":"'-104768':13A,16A '-2026':12A,15A 'account':10A 'administr':9A 'approv':5A 'attack':7A 'automatorwp':1A,17A 'comment':4A 'creat':8A 'cve':11A,14A 'let':6A 'plugin':3A 'wordpress':2A","search_b":"'6.0.4':35B 'account':72B 'act':54B 'admin':66B 'administr':71B 'approv':67B 'assign':42B 'attack':58B 'autom':45B 'automatorwp':18B,28B 'check':38B 'comment':62B 'context':55B 'control':78B,81B 'creat':68B 'email':76B 'escal':22B 'full':80B 'give':79B 'includ':34B 'make':64B 'new':70B 'packag':19B 'plugin':26B,30B 'post':60B 'privileg':21B,51B 'privilege-escal':20B 'role':41B 'site':84B 'tie':73B 'unauthent':57B 'wordpress':23B,25B,29B 'wordpress-plugin':24B","search_c":"'6.0.4':113C 'access':238C 'account':212C,297C 'act':169C 'action':133C,146C,276C,282C 'add/change':141C 'address':220C 'administr':196C,210C,237C,272C 'administrator-rol':209C 'ai':97C 'allow':174C 'anonym':131C,249C 'anonymous-us':130C 'approv':278C 'attack':176C,204C,217C 'attacker-control':175C,216C 'author':184C,265C,301C 'autom':91C,250C 'automatorwp':86C,156C 'bound':186C,256C 'ceil':121C 'code':89C 'comment':183C,264C,280C,300C 'configur':251C 'confirm':161C 'context':170C 'control':177C,218C 'creat':125C,138C,206C 'data':180C 'due':116C 'dynam':259C 'e.g':181C 'edit':158C 'email':219C,232C 'equal':135C 'escal':105C 'exist':154C 'exploit':242C 'fall':164C 'field':302C 'full':236C 'function':127C 'gain':235C 'generat':223C 'get':157C 'in-ui':286C 'includ':112C,195C 'indic':289C 'integr':92C,145C 'level':173C 'make':199C 'mint':293C 'miss':118C 'new':208C,229C,295C 'new-us':228C 'no-cod':87C 'notif':231C 'option':190C,255C 'password':224C 'perform':273C 'plugin':94C,98C 'possibl':201C 'privileg':104C,120C,172C,296C 'privilege-ceil':119C 'provid':284C 'receiv':221C 'requir':243C 'role':142C,153C,159C,163C,189C,194C,211C,254C 'routin':275C 'site':241C,245C,271C 'submit':152C 'suppli':192C 'tag':179C,185C,261C 'therebi':234C 'tie':213C 'trigger':178C,260C,268C 'ui':288C 'unauthent':203C 'unchalleng':197C 'user':126C,132C,139C,230C 'valid':122C 'verifi':148C 'version':108C 'via':155C,225C 'vulner':102C 'webhook':93C 'within':128C 'without':160C 'wordpress':100C,144C,226C 'wordpress-integr':143C 'workflow':90C","first_public_at":"2026-11-07T12:17:41+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"security@wordfence.com","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-104768","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-104768","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-11-07T12:17:41+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-07T12:17:41+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-07T12:47:08+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-11-07T12:47:08+00:00","note":null},{"source":"analyst","external_id":"CVE-2026-104768:2121","url":"https://wordpress.org/plugins/automatorwp/","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-11-07T12:53:36+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-07T12:53:36+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-07T12:53:36+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-11-07T12:53:36+00:00","note":"Fixed in 6.0.5 inferred from the plugin changelog on wordpress.org (release after 6.0.4, role-assignment hardening); changelog does not cite the CVE, so fix not marked verified. Wordfence is the advisory. Exploit needs an admin to approve a comment plus a specific automation config. No exploitation or PoC seen.","cites":["https://wordpress.org/plugins/automatorwp/","https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/wordpress-plugins/automatorwp/automatorwp-604-unauthenticated-privilege-escalation-to-insufficient-role-validation-in-anonymous-automation-role-option"]}],"documents":[{"id":95573,"url":"https://wordpress.org/plugins/automatorwp/","title":"AutomatorWP plugin page and changelog (wordpress.org)","kind":"vendor","source":"analyst","publisher":null,"text":null,"published_at":null,"relation":"fix","confidence":null,"note":null},{"id":95574,"url":"https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/wordpress-plugins/automatorwp/automatorwp-604-unauthenticated-privilege-escalation-to-insufficient-role-validation-in-anonymous-automation-role-option","title":"Wordfence: AutomatorWP <= 6.0.4 privilege escalation","kind":"advisory","source":"analyst","publisher":null,"text":null,"published_at":null,"relation":"advisory","confidence":null,"note":null}],"exploit_sources":[],"notice":"Free to read, with fair use of about 60 pages a minute. For higher limits or API access: sales@infrastack.ai"}