CVE-2026-9018
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 · uneditedThe Easy Elements for Elementor – Addons & Website Templates plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.4.5 via the `easyel_handle_register()` function. This is due to the `wp_ajax_nopriv_eel_register` AJAX handler iterating the attacker-controlled `custom_meta` POST array and writing every supplied key-value pair to the newly created user's meta via `update_user_meta()` without any key whitelist or blocklist, allowing the `wp_capabilities` user meta key to be overwritten after `wp_insert_user()` has already assigned a safe role. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to register a new account with full administrator-level privileges by supplying `custom_meta[wp_capabilities][administrator]=1`. Exploitation requires that user registration is enabled on the site and that at least one page exposes the Login/Register widget, which publishes the required `easy_elements_nonce` into the page DOM where it can be retrieved by any unauthenticated visitor via a simple GET request.
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 · high confidenceThe Easy Elements for Elementor WordPress plugin versions up to 1.4.5 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in its AJAX registration handler (`wp_ajax_nopriv_eel_register`). The handler accepts a `custom_meta` POST array and blindly writes all key-value pairs to the new user's meta via `update_user_meta()` without any filtering. An unauthenticated attacker can supply `custom_meta[wp_capabilities][administrator]=1` to overwrite the user's role to administrator after the user is created with a safe default role. Exploitation requires user registration to be enabled and a Login/Register widget to be present on a page (which exposes the required nonce in the DOM).
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Easy Elements for Elementor is installedIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Easy Elements for Elementor' or check the version via FTP in /wp-content/plugins/Affected if The plugin is installed and the version falls within the affected range (verify against official vulnerability disclosure)
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Confirm user registration is enabledGo to WordPress admin > Settings > General and check 'Anyone can register' is checked, or inspect wp_options table for 'users_can_register' = 1Affected if User registration is enabled on the site
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Identify exposed Login/Register widgetSearch frontend pages for Elementor Login/Register form widgets or check page source for the nonce value used by the eel_register actionAffected if A Login/Register widget is published on any public-facing page, exposing the registration nonce
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Verify custom_meta parameter acceptanceTest the AJAX endpoint by submitting a POST to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=eel_register and a custom_meta array (in a safe test environment only), or review plugin source code for the registration handlerAffected if The handler accepts and processes arbitrary custom_meta POST parameters without filtering wp_capabilities or wp_user_level
A site is affected if Easy Elements for Elementor is installed with a vulnerable version, user registration is enabled, and a Login/Register widget is publicly exposed, allowing an attacker to supply custom_meta[wp_capabilities][administrator]=1 to escalate privileges.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedImmediately update the plugin to the latest version when available, or disable user registration site-wide if the plugin is not essential. As a temporary measure, ensure no Login/Register widgets are publicly exposed and consider implementing a WAF rule to block requests to the vulnerable AJAX endpoint containing `custom_meta` parameters.
1.4.6 or later
- Check the current version of the Easy Elements for Elementor plugin installed on the WordPress site
- Navigate to Plugins > All Plugins in the WordPress admin dashboard
- Locate 'Easy Elements for Elementor' and update to version 1.4.6 or latest available version
- Verify the update was successful and the new version is active
- As a configuration hardening measure, consider disabling user registration in WordPress settings (Settings > General > Membership: uncheck 'Anyone can register') if not required for business needs
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-9018 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-9018 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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