The Easy Digital Downloads plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass leading to administrator
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.1 High.
Data as of 3 Nov 2026, 07:43 UTC
Thin evidence
One scorer or none| CNA (Wordfence) | CVSS 3.1 | 8.1 |
|---|
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 3 Nov 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2 Nov 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| smubEasy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
Until a fix is available, it is recommended to disable PayPal guest checkout or restrict its usage to trusted users only. Monitor official Easy Digital Downloads channels for updates and apply any released patches promptly to remediate this vulnerability.
Description
The Easy Digital Downloads WordPress plugin contains an authentication bypass vulnerability in all versions up to and including 3.7.2. This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to impersonate an administrator by exploiting the guest checkout process with PayPal. The plugin trusts the email address entered during guest checkout as proof of identity, binding the order to an existing user solely based on email match. Completing a PayPal purchase flow using an administrator's email address results in an authenticated session as that administrator, enabling full account takeover.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-120538 (opens in a new tab)
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/includes/customers/customer-actions.php (opens in a new tab)
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/includes/gateways/paypal/checkout-actions.php (opens in a new tab)
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/includes/orders/functions/orders.php (opens in a new tab)
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/includes/user-functions.php (opens in a new tab)
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-digital-downloads/tags/3.7.0/src/Gateways/PayPal/V3/PurchaseUser.php (opens in a new tab)
- wordpress.org/plugins/easy-digital-downloads (opens in a new tab)
- wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f4250328-6d6c-4eb1-9ef2-334774c1d337?source=cve (opens in a new tab)