CVE-2025-30825 Overview
CVE-2025-30825 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the WPClever WPC Smart Linked Products – Upsells & Cross-sells for WooCommerce plugin. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.3.5. An authenticated attacker with low-privilege access can invoke plugin functionality without the required authorization checks, leading to privilege escalation on the WordPress site.
The weakness maps to [CWE-862: Missing Authorization]. With network-based exploitation and low attack complexity, the issue creates a direct path to compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability of WooCommerce stores running the affected plugin.
Critical Impact
Authenticated low-privilege users can escalate privileges on WooCommerce sites running wpc-smart-linked-products versions through 1.3.5, exposing site data and administrative functions.
Affected Products
- WPClever WPC Smart Linked Products – Upsells & Cross-sells for WooCommerce
- Plugin slug: wpc-smart-linked-products
- Versions: all releases up to and including 1.3.5
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-04-01 - CVE-2025-30825 published to NVD
- 2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-30825
Vulnerability Analysis
The plugin exposes one or more action handlers that perform sensitive operations without verifying the caller's role or capabilities. WordPress plugins typically gate privileged actions with current_user_can() capability checks and check_ajax_referer() nonce validation. The affected handlers in wpc-smart-linked-products omit one or both of these controls.
An attacker who holds a low-privilege WordPress account, such as a subscriber or customer created through WooCommerce registration, can call the unprotected endpoints. Because WooCommerce stores commonly allow open customer registration, the barrier to obtaining a valid authenticated session is minimal.
The impact extends beyond plugin data. Privilege escalation in this context allows attackers to manipulate site state in ways that bypass the WordPress role model.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of authorization enforcement on plugin actions. The handlers do not validate whether the authenticated user has the capability required for the requested operation. [CWE-862] describes this exact pattern, where a function performs a sensitive action without checking that the caller is permitted to invoke it.
Attack Vector
Exploitation occurs over the network against the WordPress admin-ajax or REST endpoints exposed by the plugin. The attacker authenticates with any valid account, then issues crafted requests to the vulnerable action handlers. No user interaction is required, and the attack complexity is low.
See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-30825
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php referencing wpc-smart-linked-products actions from low-privilege user sessions.
- New or modified WordPress users with elevated roles that cannot be traced to legitimate administrative activity.
- Changes to WooCommerce product linkage, options, or plugin settings without a corresponding audit trail entry.
Detection Strategies
- Inventory WordPress installations and identify any site running wpc-smart-linked-products at version 1.3.5 or earlier.
- Review web server access logs for repeated POST requests to plugin AJAX or REST routes originating from subscriber or customer accounts.
- Correlate authentication events with subsequent privileged operations to identify role changes initiated by non-administrative users.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Forward WordPress and web server logs to a centralized logging platform and alert on role or capability modifications.
- Monitor for creation of administrator accounts and for unexpected updates to wp_usermeta capability fields.
- Track plugin file integrity to detect tampering following any suspected exploitation attempt.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-30825
Immediate Actions Required
- Update WPC Smart Linked Products to a version later than 1.3.5 once the vendor publishes a fixed release.
- Audit existing WordPress user accounts and remove any unauthorized administrators or elevated roles.
- Disable open customer registration on WooCommerce sites that do not require it until patching is complete.
Patch Information
The vendor advisory tracked by Patchstack covers all versions through 1.3.5. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the latest fixed version information and apply the update through the WordPress plugin manager.
Workarounds
- Deactivate the wpc-smart-linked-products plugin until a patched version is installed.
- Restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php for unauthenticated and low-privilege users at the web application firewall layer.
- Enforce strong authentication and rate limiting on customer login endpoints to reduce the pool of accounts available for abuse.
# Disable the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI until a patch is applied
wp plugin deactivate wpc-smart-linked-products
wp plugin status wpc-smart-linked-products
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
