CVE-2025-15657: School Management IDOR Vulnerability

CVE-2025-15657 Overview

CVE-2025-15657 is an unauthenticated Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability in the WordPress School Management plugin, affecting versions up to and including 93.1.0. The flaw allows remote attackers to access resources belonging to other users by manipulating object identifiers in requests, without requiring authentication or user interaction. The weakness is classified under CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key. Successful exploitation results in unauthorized read access to data managed by the plugin, impacting confidentiality of student, staff, or administrative records stored in the affected WordPress instance.

Critical Impact
Remote unauthenticated attackers can enumerate and retrieve records associated with other users by altering object identifiers, exposing sensitive school management data.

Affected Products

WordPress School Management plugin versions <= 93.1.0
WordPress sites running the vulnerable plugin in production
Educational platforms relying on School Management for student and staff records

Discovery Timeline

2026-06-17 - CVE-2025-15657 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-15657

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from missing authorization checks on requests that reference internal objects through user-supplied identifiers. The School Management plugin exposes endpoints that accept object identifiers, such as record IDs, and returns the corresponding data without validating whether the requester is authorized to access that specific object. Because the affected endpoints do not require authentication, any remote attacker can iterate through identifier values and retrieve records belonging to other users.

This is a classic [CWE-639] pattern where the access control decision relies on a client-supplied key rather than a server-side authorization policy. The Patchstack advisory confirms the issue applies to all versions through 93.1.0.

Root Cause

The plugin trusts user-controlled identifiers passed in HTTP requests and resolves them directly to backend objects. No ownership or role check is performed before returning data, and no authentication is enforced on the vulnerable endpoints. The result is a broken access control flaw exploitable across the network.

Attack Vector

An attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to the affected plugin endpoint, substituting different numeric or string identifiers in parameters such as a record ID. Each request returns the corresponding object, allowing automated enumeration of records. No credentials, tokens, or user interaction are required.

No verified public exploit code is available. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-15657

Indicators of Compromise

Sequential or rapid HTTP requests to School Management plugin endpoints with incrementing identifier parameters
Unauthenticated requests returning HTTP 200 responses containing user-specific records
Unusual outbound data volume from /wp-content/plugins/school-management/ endpoints

Detection Strategies

Inspect web server access logs for unauthenticated requests targeting School Management endpoints with varying ID parameters
Deploy WAF rules that flag enumeration patterns against plugin URLs
Correlate request bursts from a single source IP across multiple object identifiers

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose logging on WordPress installations using the School Management plugin
Alert on response sizes that suggest bulk record retrieval from plugin endpoints
Monitor for scanner user agents and abnormal request rates against the affected paths

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-15657

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress sites running the School Management plugin at version <= 93.1.0
Restrict access to plugin endpoints via WAF or IP allowlisting until a patched version is deployed
Audit recent web server logs for signs of enumeration against plugin endpoints

Patch Information

No fixed version is published in the available NVD data. Consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the latest vendor remediation guidance and apply the official update as soon as it becomes available.

Workarounds

Disable the School Management plugin until an updated version is released by the vendor
Place the WordPress site behind a WAF with rules blocking unauthenticated access to plugin endpoints
Apply virtual patching through Patchstack or equivalent mitigation services where supported

bash

# Example WAF rule concept for nginx to block unauthenticated access
# to vulnerable School Management endpoints
location ~* /wp-content/plugins/school-management/ {
    if ($http_cookie !~* "wordpress_logged_in") {
        return 403;
    }
}