Title: Highland Software Custom Role Manager Author: jgrodgers Published: April 25, 2026 Last modified: June 29, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/highland-software-custom-role-manager/assets/banner-772x250. png?rev=3515270) ![](https://ps.w.org/highland-software-custom-role-manager/assets/icon-256x256.png? rev=3515269) # Highland Software Custom Role Manager By [jgrodgers](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jgrodgers/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/highland-software-custom-role-manager.1.0.4.zip) * [Details](https://vec.wordpress.org/plugins/highland-software-custom-role-manager/#description) * [Reviews](https://vec.wordpress.org/plugins/highland-software-custom-role-manager/#reviews) * [Installation](https://vec.wordpress.org/plugins/highland-software-custom-role-manager/#installation) * [Development](https://vec.wordpress.org/plugins/highland-software-custom-role-manager/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/highland-software-custom-role-manager/) ## Description Highland Software Custom Roles Manager extends WordPress role management by allowing administrators to create custom roles, assign multiple roles to users, and manage capabilities through an intuitive interface. This plugin follows WordPress best practices for role and capability management, including strict server-side validation and protection against unsafe capability assignment. Version 1.0.3 improves role loading, synchronization, and compatibility with third- party plugins by automatically detecting and rendering dynamically registered WordPress roles. The plugin now correctly displays existing user roles and automatically detects roles created by third-party plugins such as WooCommerce, LMS platforms, membership systems, CRM integrations, and other custom role providers — without requiring administrators to resave settings. ### Features * Create and manage unlimited custom roles * Assign multiple roles to a single user * Automatic detection of third-party and plugin-created roles * Existing user roles automatically displayed and synchronized * Group roles for better organization * Drag-and-drop role ordering * Capability management with toggle interface * Role and capability change logging (audit trail) * Protection against unsafe capability assignment * Replace the default role dropdown with a checkbox-based interface * Support for WordPress core roles and custom plugin roles * Automatic synchronization with newly registered WordPress roles ## Screenshots [⌊Role builder interface⌉⌊Role builder interface⌉[ Role builder interface [⌊Capability management UI⌉⌊Capability management UI⌉[ Capability management UI [⌊User role assignment interface⌉⌊User role assignment interface⌉[ User role assignment interface [⌊Grouped roles display⌉⌊Grouped roles display⌉[ Grouped roles display ## Installation 1. Upload the plugin folder to `/wp-content/plugins/` 2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress 3. Navigate to “HS Roles” in the admin menu 4. Configure roles and capabilities ## FAQ ### Can users have multiple roles? Yes, users can be assigned multiple roles using a checkbox interface. ### Are default roles modified? No. Default WordPress roles are protected and cannot be modified. ### Is the administrator role protected? Yes, sensitive capabilities such as `manage_options` are restricted. ### Will this plugin affect existing users? No. Existing users retain their roles unless explicitly changed. ### Does the plugin support WooCommerce or other plugin roles? Yes. The plugin automatically detects and renders roles registered by third-party plugins, including WooCommerce, LMS systems, membership plugins, CRM integrations, and other custom role providers. ### Do administrators need to resave settings when new roles are added? No. Newly registered WordPress roles are automatically detected and displayed in the user role interface. ### What does the logging system track? The plugin logs role and capability changes, including who made the change and when it occurred. ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “Highland Software Custom Role Manager” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ jgrodgers ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jgrodgers/) [Translate “Highland Software Custom Role Manager” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/highland-software-custom-role-manager) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/highland-software-custom-role-manager/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/highland-software-custom-role-manager/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/highland-software-custom-role-manager/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/highland-software-custom-role-manager/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 1.0.4 * Added automatic detection and rendering of third-party plugin roles * Fixed issue where existing custom roles were not displayed until settings were saved * Fixed issue where existing user roles did not display correctly on profile pages * Added capability search for faster capability management * Added automatic capability panel expansion when search receives focus * Improved capability grid layout and wrapping for long capability names * Added role usage counters showing number of assigned users * Prevented deletion of roles currently assigned to existing users * Added protection for restricted manage_options capability * Improved overall role synchronization and admin UI performance * General security, validation, and code quality improvements #### 1.0.3 * Fix: Existing user roles now correctly render on profile and edit screens. * Fix: Third-party plugin roles now automatically appear without requiring admin resave. * Improvement: Enhanced role synchronization to dynamically merge stored configuration with live WordPress roles. * Improvement: Improved compatibility with WooCommerce, LMS, membership, and other custom role providers. * Improvement: WordPress core roles are now prioritized at the top of the role assignment interface. * Improvement: Preserved grouping, separators, and custom ordering while supporting dynamic role discovery. * Improvement: Improved role rendering reliability for both existing and newly registered roles. #### 1.0.2 * Feature: Added logging system for role and capability changes (audit trail). * Improvement: Logs include user, action, and context for better traceability. * Fix: Resolved issue where existing custom roles were not displayed on load. * Improvement: Enhanced role synchronization to correctly merge stored configuration with WordPress roles. #### 1.0.1 * Security: Fixed a privilege escalation vulnerability in role assignment logic. * Security: Enforced strict server-side capability checks for role modifications. * Security: Prevented assignment of restricted capabilities such as manage_options. * Security: Hardened AJAX endpoints with capability and nonce validation. * Hardening: Improved role validation and synchronization logic. * Hardening: Added rate limiting to AJAX endpoints. * Props: Thanks to 0xherc1337 and Steven Stern (sterndata) for responsibly reporting the issue. #### 1.0.0 * Initial release * Multi-role assignment * Role grouping and ordering * Capability management system ## Meta * Version **1.0.4** * Last updated **7 days ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 5.4 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.0** * PHP version ** 7.2 or higher ** * Language * [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/highland-software-custom-role-manager/) * Tags * [capabilities](https://vec.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/capabilities/)[permissions](https://vec.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/permissions/) [role manager](https://vec.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/role-manager/)[user management](https://vec.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/user-management/) [user roles](https://vec.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/user-roles/) * [Advanced View](https://vec.wordpress.org/plugins/highland-software-custom-role-manager/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/highland-software-custom-role-manager/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/highland-software-custom-role-manager/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ jgrodgers ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jgrodgers/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/highland-software-custom-role-manager/)