GiveWP WordPress plugin: Privilege escalation to administrator without authentication
Summary
GiveWP, a WordPress donation and fundraising plugin, up to and including version 4.17.0 contains a privilege escalation flaw (CWE-266, incorrect privilege assignment). An unauthenticated attacker with network access to the website may be able to gain elevated privileges, potentially up to administrator level with full control of the site. The CVSS score is 8.1; Patchstack describes the flaw as high priority, but no vendor advisory for this CVE was found.
Affected
- GiveWP plugin for WordPress, versions up to and including 4.17.0
- Vendor field in the CVE feed: Nexcess (likely mapping error; developer per Patchstack: Liquid Web / StellarWP)
Fixed in
- Version 4.18.0 (per Patchstack and WPScan)
- Sources disagree: Websupport lists a later fixed version (4.19.0); VulDB mentions 4.17.1, which conflicts with other sources and is not relied on
- Exact patched version in the vendor changelog for this CVE: Unknown.
Workaround
- No vendor workaround found.
- Patchstack has issued a virtual mitigation rule for its customers; this is not a fix and does not replace the update.
- Until patched: restrict access to the admin area and review user accounts for unexpected new or elevated users.
Exploitation
- Not marked as known exploited (CISA KEV: not listed according to the sources checked).
- Patchstack expects exploitation based on severity; this is a forecast, not evidence of attacks.
- Public proof-of-concept: none found. Unknown.
Our recommendation
- Update GiveWP to version 4.18.0 or later on all WordPress sites, and verify the installed version afterwards.
- If an update is not possible immediately, ask your hosting provider or web developer for help and use a virtual patch or WAF rule if available.
- Review WordPress user accounts for unexpected administrators or role changes and check the site for signs of compromise.
- Enable automatic plugin updates where possible and monitor for further GiveWP security releases.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- Patchstack patchstack.com
- WPScan wpscan.com
- HOL Guard hol.org
- VulDB vuldb.com
- Websupport websupportservices.co.uk
- GiveWP GitHub releases github.com
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 1 Nov 2026, 20:52.
Original description (NVD)
Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation in GiveWP <= 4.17.0 versions.
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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