CVE-2025-22299: AI for SEO Authorization Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-22299 Overview

CVE-2025-22299 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] in the Space Codes AI for SEO WordPress plugin (ai-for-seo). The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 1.2.9. Attackers with low-privilege authenticated access can reach functionality that should be restricted to higher-privileged users due to incorrectly configured access control checks. Successful exploitation results in limited integrity impact on the affected WordPress site.

Critical Impact
Authenticated users with minimal privileges can bypass access control restrictions in the AI for SEO plugin and interact with functionality intended for administrators, enabling unauthorized modification of plugin-managed data.

Affected Products

Space Codes AI for SEO WordPress plugin (ai-for-seo)
All versions from n/a through 1.2.9
WordPress sites running the vulnerable plugin

Discovery Timeline

2025-01-07 - CVE-2025-22299 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-22299

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a broken access control issue in the AI for SEO plugin for WordPress. The plugin exposes actions or endpoints that fail to verify whether the requesting user holds the required capability or role. As a result, an authenticated user with low privileges can invoke functionality that should be restricted.

The vulnerability requires authentication and network access. Exploitation does not require user interaction and has low attack complexity. The impact is limited to integrity, with no confidentiality or availability effects reported in the advisory.

Root Cause

The root cause is a Missing Authorization weakness [CWE-862]. The plugin does not perform sufficient capability checks (for example, WordPress current_user_can() verification) before executing privileged actions. Authorization logic relies on incorrectly configured access control security levels, allowing subscribers or other low-privileged roles to access restricted operations.

Attack Vector

An attacker authenticates to WordPress using any low-privilege account. The attacker then sends a request to a plugin action, AJAX handler, or REST endpoint that lacks proper authorization checks. Because the plugin does not validate the caller's role or capability, the request is processed. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for technical details.

No verified public proof-of-concept code is available. The vulnerability manifests in plugin request handlers that omit capability verification.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-22299

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected changes to AI for SEO plugin settings or generated content on WordPress sites running version 1.2.9 or earlier
Authenticated requests from low-privilege accounts (Subscriber, Contributor) to admin-ajax.php or plugin-specific REST routes associated with ai-for-seo
New or unexplained SEO metadata, posts, or configuration entries created outside administrator activity

Detection Strategies

Audit WordPress access logs for requests to ai-for-seo endpoints originating from non-administrator sessions
Review plugin activity logs for privileged actions triggered by user roles that should not have plugin management capability
Inventory WordPress installations to identify sites running vulnerable versions of the plugin (<= 1.2.9)

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress activity logging plugins to capture role-based action attribution for plugin operations
Monitor web server logs for POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action parameters referencing ai-for-seo
Track anomalous authenticated traffic patterns from low-privilege accounts against WordPress management interfaces

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-22299

Immediate Actions Required

Update the AI for SEO plugin to a version later than 1.2.9 once the vendor publishes a fix
Disable and remove the ai-for-seo plugin from production WordPress installations until a patched release is available
Review WordPress user accounts and remove or downgrade unnecessary low-privilege accounts that could be leveraged for exploitation

Patch Information

At the time of the advisory, the vulnerability affects all versions through 1.2.9. Administrators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the latest patched version information and vendor guidance.

Workarounds

Deactivate the AI for SEO plugin until a patched version is confirmed available
Restrict user registration on affected WordPress sites to reduce the pool of low-privileged authenticated attackers
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block unauthenticated and low-privilege requests to ai-for-seo AJAX and REST endpoints

bash

# Example: disable the plugin via WP-CLI until a fix is available
wp plugin deactivate ai-for-seo
wp plugin status ai-for-seo