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CVE-2026-18432 – Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation to Administrator – Frontend Admin by DynamiApp

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Summary

CVE-2026-18432 is a critical privilege escalation vulnerability in the Frontend Admin by DynamiApps WordPress plugin (also distributed as "acf-frontend-form-element"), affecting all versions up to and including 3.29.9. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to escalate privileges to Administrator by abusing an improper input validation check on a user-supplied parameter. The issue is rated CRITICAL with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8.

Technical details

  • Root cause: the ActionUser::conditions_logic() function gates its authorization check behind an is_numeric() test on the item_id (user ID) parameter.
  • Trigger condition: supplying a non-numeric string value (e.g., a value like "1one") for the user ID parameter causes the numeric check to fail, which skips the authorization/ownership validation entirely.
  • Because WordPress performs type coercion on such values, the attacker-controlled input can still resolve to a valid target, such as user ID 1 (commonly the first administrator account).
  • Attack vector: the vulnerability is exploited via an unauthenticated AJAX endpoint exposed by the plugin, requiring no authentication or user interaction.
  • Impact: full privilege escalation to Administrator, resulting in complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the WordPress site.

Affected software

  • Frontend Admin by DynamiApps (WordPress plugin), versions 0 through 3.29.9 (all versions up to and including 3.29.9).

Severity

  • CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 9.8 (Critical)
  • Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: Update Frontend Admin by DynamiApps to a version beyond 3.29.9 that fixes the missing authorization check on the item_id parameter, once the vendor releases a patched build.
  • If no patch is yet available: disable or deactivate the plugin until a fix is released, especially on internet-facing sites; restrict access to the plugin’s AJAX endpoints via network-level controls (e.g., WAF rules blocking non-numeric values in the affected parameter); monitor for unexpected administrator account creation or role changes as an indicator of exploitation.

References

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