CVE-2025-14370: Quote Comments Plugin Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-14370 Overview

CVE-2025-14370 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability affecting the Quote Comments plugin for WordPress. The vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 3.0.0, where the quotecomments_add_admin function lacks proper authorization checks. This security flaw enables authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access or higher to update arbitrary plugin options via the action parameter.

Critical Impact

Authenticated users with minimal privileges (Subscriber-level) can manipulate plugin configuration settings, potentially leading to site compromise or further exploitation.

Affected Products

• Quote Comments plugin for WordPress versions up to and including 3.0.0
• WordPress installations using vulnerable Quote Comments plugin versions

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-07 - CVE-2025-14370 published to NVD
• 2026-01-08 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-14370

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), a security weakness where the application fails to perform authorization checks when users attempt to access resources or execute functions. In the context of the Quote Comments plugin, the quotecomments_add_admin function processes administrative requests without verifying whether the requesting user has appropriate permissions to perform such actions.

The vulnerable code path allows any authenticated WordPress user—including those with the lowest privilege level (Subscriber)—to interact with administrative functionality that should be restricted to administrators only. This represents a significant privilege escalation vector within WordPress environments.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of capability checks within the quotecomments_add_admin function at line 309 of the plugin's main file (quote-comments.php). WordPress provides built-in functions such as current_user_can() to verify user capabilities before executing privileged operations. The failure to implement these checks means the function processes requests regardless of the user's actual authorization level.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability is exploited over the network by authenticated attackers. An attacker would need to:

1. Authenticate to the WordPress site with at least Subscriber-level credentials
2. Craft a request targeting the vulnerable function via the action parameter
3. Submit modified plugin option values to alter the plugin's behavior

The attack does not require user interaction and can be performed with low complexity once authentication is achieved. The vulnerability allows unauthorized modification of plugin settings, which could be leveraged for further attacks such as cross-site scripting injection through manipulated configuration values or disabling security features.

For technical implementation details, refer to the WordPress Plugin Code Reference and the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-14370

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected changes to Quote Comments plugin settings without administrator action
• WordPress audit logs showing Subscriber or low-privilege users accessing administrative AJAX endpoints
• Unusual POST requests to admin-ajax.php with the quotecomments action from non-administrator accounts

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress AJAX request logs for unauthorized access attempts to plugin administration functions
• Implement file integrity monitoring on the Quote Comments plugin directory to detect unauthorized configuration changes
• Review WordPress user activity logs for Subscriber-level accounts interacting with administrative endpoints
• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block unauthorized plugin option modification attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive WordPress audit logging to track all plugin configuration changes
• Configure alerts for low-privilege user accounts accessing administrative AJAX actions
• Implement real-time monitoring of wp_options table modifications related to the Quote Comments plugin
• Review authentication logs for unusual patterns from Subscriber-level accounts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-14370

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Quote Comments plugin to a patched version when available
• Temporarily deactivate the Quote Comments plugin if an update is not yet available
• Audit WordPress user accounts and remove unnecessary Subscriber-level accounts
• Review plugin settings for unauthorized modifications and restore to known-good configurations

Patch Information

At the time of publication, administrators should check for updates to the Quote Comments plugin beyond version 3.0.0. Monitor the official WordPress plugin repository and the Wordfence Vulnerability Report for patch availability announcements.

Workarounds

• Disable user registration on WordPress sites where it is not required to prevent new Subscriber accounts
• Implement additional access controls through a security plugin that restricts AJAX endpoint access by user role
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to filter and block suspicious requests targeting the vulnerable function
• Restrict Subscriber-level users from accessing the WordPress admin area entirely using role management plugins

# Disable WordPress user registration via wp-config.php
# Add this line to prevent new user registrations
define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true);

# Alternatively, disable via WP-CLI
wp option update users_can_register 0