CVE-2025-24653: ASE Pro Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-24653 Overview

CVE-2025-24653 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) Pro WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 7.6.1.1. Authenticated attackers with low privileges can exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels to perform actions restricted to higher-privileged users. The issue is tracked under CWE-862: Missing Authorization and was published to the National Vulnerability Database on January 27, 2025.

Critical Impact
Authenticated users with minimal privileges can bypass access control checks in ASE Pro, enabling unauthorized modifications on WordPress sites running vulnerable versions of the plugin.

Affected Products

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) Pro plugin for WordPress
All versions from initial release through 7.6.1.1
WordPress installations using ASE Pro for site administration enhancements

Discovery Timeline

2025-01-27 - CVE-2025-24653 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24653

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) Pro plugin, a commercial WordPress extension that consolidates site administration features. The plugin exposes functionality without enforcing appropriate capability checks. Attackers authenticated at low privilege levels can invoke actions that should be limited to administrators or other elevated roles.

The attack vector is network-based and requires only low privileges. No user interaction is required. Exploitation affects integrity but does not directly expose confidential data or disrupt availability, according to the published CVSS vector.

Root Cause

The underlying weakness maps to CWE-862: Missing Authorization. The plugin performs sensitive actions without verifying whether the requesting user holds the required WordPress capability. Access control checks are either absent or configured at an insufficient security level for the protected functionality.

WordPress plugins typically enforce authorization through current_user_can() capability checks or nonce validation on privileged endpoints. When these checks are omitted or scoped to overly permissive capabilities, any authenticated user can reach restricted actions.

Attack Vector

An attacker first obtains a low-privilege account on a WordPress site running a vulnerable ASE Pro version. This can be achieved through open registration, subscriber-level access, or compromised credentials. The attacker then sends crafted HTTP requests to plugin endpoints that lack proper authorization enforcement.

Because authentication alone gates the vulnerable functionality, roles as limited as Subscriber may successfully invoke actions intended for administrators. See the Patchstack advisory for additional technical detail.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24653

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected changes to WordPress site configuration or plugin settings performed by non-administrative accounts
HTTP POST requests to ASE Pro AJAX or REST endpoints originating from low-privilege sessions
New or modified administrative artifacts (users, options, redirects) without a matching admin login
Anomalous activity in wp-admin/admin-ajax.php requests referencing ASE Pro action parameters

Detection Strategies

Review WordPress activity logs for privileged actions attributed to Subscriber, Contributor, or Author accounts
Correlate authentication events with subsequent administrative API calls to identify privilege mismatches
Inspect web server access logs for repeated requests to plugin endpoints from newly registered users

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable a WordPress audit logging plugin to capture role-based action history
Forward WordPress and web server logs to a centralized SIEM for correlation across sessions
Alert on capability escalations and configuration changes performed outside of administrator sessions
Baseline normal ASE Pro request patterns and flag deviations from low-privilege user agents

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24653

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) Pro to a version later than 7.6.1.1 as soon as the vendor publishes a fix
Audit all WordPress user accounts and remove or disable unused low-privilege accounts
Disable open user registration on sites that do not require it to reduce the attacker pool
Review recent administrative changes for signs of unauthorized modification

Patch Information

Refer to the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for the latest patched version and vendor guidance. Apply the vendor-supplied update through the WordPress plugin manager once available and confirm the installed version reports higher than 7.6.1.1.

Workarounds

Temporarily deactivate the ASE Pro plugin until a patched version is installed
Restrict access to wp-admin and admin-ajax.php by IP address using web server or WAF rules
Deploy a WordPress-aware web application firewall to block requests to vulnerable plugin endpoints from non-administrative sessions
Enforce strong authentication and rate limiting on login endpoints to limit low-privilege account abuse

bash

# Example nginx rule restricting wp-admin access to trusted IPs
location ^~ /wp-admin/ {
    allow 203.0.113.0/24;
    deny all;
    try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}