dbcve.org
Wpforo ForumWordPress extension · Gvectors

CVE-2018-16613

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-06-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.5.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
An issue was discovered in the update function in the wpForo Forum plugin before 1.5.2 for WordPress. A registered forum is able to escalate privilege to the forum administrator without any form of user interaction.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

The wpForo Forum plugin before version 1.5.2 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in its update function. A registered forum user can escalate their privileges to forum administrator without any user interaction, likely due to missing or insufficient authorization checks in the update function.

MitigationUpgrade the wpForo Forum plugin to version 1.5.2 or later. Until the patch is applied, consider disabling the plugin or restricting forum registration.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Wpforo ForumWordPress extension
Affected:< 1.5.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify wpForo Forum plugin is installed
    Check for the wpForo plugin files in the WordPress plugins directory, typically at /wp-content/plugins/wpforo/ or via the WordPress admin plugins list
    Affected if The wpForo Forum plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Determine installed wpForo version
    Check the plugin header in wpforo.php or the WordPress plugin admin page for the version number
    Affected if The installed version is less than 1.5.2 (for example, 1.5.0, 1.4.9, etc.)
  3. Inspect user role configuration
    Review the wpForo user roles in WordPress admin under Forums > Settings > Members tab to see if custom roles are defined
    Affected if Custom forum roles exist and the plugin version is below 1.5.2
  4. Check for unauthorized administrator accounts
    List all WordPress users with administrator role, particularly those who did not register through standard WordPress admin invitation
    Affected if Unexpected administrator accounts exist that were not created through proper WordPress admin channels

The environment is affected if the wpForo Forum plugin version is below 1.5.2, as the privilege escalation vulnerability in the update function can allow any registered forum user to obtain administrator privileges.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.5.2 or later
Fixed in 1.5.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade the wpForo Forum plugin to version 1.5.2 or later. Until the patch is applied, consider disabling the plugin or restricting forum registration.

Recommended fix High confidence

wpForo Forum version 1.5.2 or later

  1. 1. Create a full backup of your WordPress site (database and files) before making any changes
  2. 2. Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. 3. Locate the wpForo Forum plugin in the list
  4. 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to update to version 1.5.2 or later
  5. 5. Alternatively, manually download wpForo Forum version 1.5.2 or latest version from the WordPress plugin repository and upload via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  6. 6. After updating, verify the plugin version shows 1.5.2 or higher in the plugins list
  7. 7. Test that the forum functionality works correctly and that user roles are properly restricted

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Wpforo Forum Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-16613 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-16613 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data