CVE-2025-13722: Fluent Forms Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-13722 Overview

CVE-2025-13722 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability (CWE-862) affecting the Fluent Forms WordPress plugin, a popular form builder used for creating contact forms, surveys, quizzes, and conversational forms. The vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 6.1.7 and stems from missing capability checks on the fluentform_ai_create_form AJAX action.

This authorization bypass allows authenticated attackers with minimal privileges (Subscriber-level access and above) to create arbitrary forms through the publicly exposed AI builder functionality. Since WordPress Subscriber accounts are easy to obtain on many sites, this significantly lowers the barrier to exploitation.

Critical Impact

Authenticated users with Subscriber-level access can bypass authorization controls to create arbitrary forms via the AI builder, potentially enabling phishing campaigns, data harvesting, or site defacement through malicious form injection.

Affected Products

• Fluent Forms WordPress Plugin versions ≤ 6.1.7
• WordPress installations with Fluent Forms plugin enabled
• Sites allowing user registration with Subscriber role

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-07 - CVE CVE-2025-13722 published to NVD
• 2026-01-08 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-13722

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the AI Form Builder module of the Fluent Forms plugin. The fluentform_ai_create_form AJAX action handler fails to implement proper capability checks before processing form creation requests. In WordPress, AJAX handlers should verify that the current user has appropriate permissions (capabilities) to perform the requested action.

Without these capability checks, any authenticated user—regardless of their assigned role—can invoke the AI form builder functionality. This represents a classic broken access control scenario where the application assumes authentication is sufficient for authorization.

The attack surface is particularly concerning because WordPress allows public user registration by default on many installations, and the Subscriber role is the lowest privilege level. An attacker need only create a free account to gain the access required for exploitation.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of capability verification in the AiFormBuilder.php file's AJAX handler. The handler processes requests from authenticated users without checking whether those users possess the required capabilities (such as manage_options or custom Fluent Forms capabilities) to create forms.

This is a common WordPress plugin vulnerability pattern where developers register AJAX actions but forget to implement the current_user_can() check before processing privileged operations.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires low complexity to execute. An attacker would:

1. Register for a Subscriber account on the target WordPress site (or use an existing compromised low-privilege account)
2. Authenticate to WordPress to obtain a valid session
3. Send a crafted AJAX request to the fluentform_ai_create_form action endpoint
4. The form is created without authorization verification, bypassing intended access controls

Since no user interaction is required from administrators and the attack can be performed remotely over the network, exploitation is straightforward for anyone with valid credentials.

The vulnerability affects the integrity of the WordPress installation by allowing unauthorized content creation. While the immediate impact is form creation, malicious actors could leverage this to create phishing forms, harvest sensitive data from site visitors, or damage site reputation through inappropriate content.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-13722

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected forms appearing in the Fluent Forms dashboard that were not created by authorized administrators
• AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with action=fluentform_ai_create_form from low-privilege user accounts
• Audit logs showing form creation events attributed to Subscriber or other non-administrative users
• Unusual activity patterns from newly registered user accounts

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress AJAX request logs for fluentform_ai_create_form actions originating from non-administrative user sessions
• Implement WordPress activity logging plugins to track form creation events and correlate with user privilege levels
• Review Fluent Forms entries for forms created by users without expected administrative capabilities
• Set up alerts for form creation activity outside normal administrative workflows

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive WordPress audit logging using plugins like WP Activity Log or Sucuri
• Configure web application firewall (WAF) rules to flag suspicious AJAX patterns targeting Fluent Forms endpoints
• Regularly audit the forms list in Fluent Forms to identify unauthorized entries
• Monitor user registration patterns for potential account creation preceding exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-13722

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Fluent Forms plugin to version 6.1.8 or later immediately
• Audit existing forms in Fluent Forms dashboard to identify any unauthorized entries created by non-administrative users
• Review WordPress user accounts and remove or restrict any suspicious Subscriber-level accounts
• Consider temporarily disabling user registration if not business-critical while investigating potential compromise

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in Fluent Forms version 6.1.8. The fix adds proper capability checks to the fluentform_ai_create_form AJAX handler in the AiFormBuilder.php file. Administrators should update through the WordPress plugin update mechanism or download the patched version directly from the WordPress plugin repository.

For detailed information about the code changes, refer to the WordPress Plugin Changeset. Additional vulnerability details are available in the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Workarounds

• If immediate patching is not possible, temporarily disable the Fluent Forms plugin until the update can be applied
• Restrict user registration to reduce the attack surface from unknown subscribers
• Implement additional access controls at the web server or WAF level to block AJAX requests to the vulnerable endpoint from non-administrative users
• Use a WordPress security plugin to add additional authorization layers to sensitive AJAX actions

# Configuration example - Block vulnerable endpoint via .htaccess (temporary mitigation)
# Add to WordPress .htaccess file before updating plugin
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/wp-admin/admin-ajax\.php
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} action=fluentform_ai_create_form [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>