CVE-2025-31843 Overview
CVE-2025-31843 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the Wilson OpenAI Tools for WordPress & WooCommerce plugin (openai-tools-for-wp-wc). The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 2.2.1. Authenticated attackers with low-level privileges can invoke plugin functionality that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles. The weakness is categorized under [CWE-862] Missing Authorization and stems from incorrectly configured access control checks on plugin actions.
Critical Impact
Authenticated users with minimal privileges can access plugin features intended for administrators, leading to limited integrity impact on WordPress and WooCommerce installations running the vulnerable plugin.
Affected Products
- Wilson OpenAI Tools for WordPress & WooCommerce plugin versions up to and including 2.2.1
- WordPress sites with the openai-tools-for-wp-wc plugin installed
- WooCommerce deployments integrating the affected OpenAI Tools plugin
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-04-01 - CVE-2025-31843 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-31843
Vulnerability Analysis
The plugin exposes actions that lack proper capability or nonce validation. WordPress plugins typically enforce authorization through current_user_can() checks and nonce verification on AJAX endpoints and admin-post handlers. When these checks are missing or incorrectly configured, any authenticated user can invoke restricted functionality. The vulnerability enables limited integrity impact without affecting confidentiality or availability directly. Exploitation requires network access and an authenticated session with low privileges, such as a Subscriber-level account.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or improperly configured authorization checks on plugin endpoints. The plugin fails to validate the acting user's capability level before executing privileged operations. This falls under [CWE-862] Missing Authorization, where security-relevant functions do not confirm the requester holds the required role or permission.
Attack Vector
An attacker registers or authenticates as a low-privileged WordPress user. The attacker then sends crafted HTTP requests to plugin endpoints that should be reserved for administrators. Because the plugin does not verify the caller's capabilities, the requests execute successfully. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for technical details on the affected endpoints.
No verified public exploit code is available at this time. The vulnerability mechanism involves sending authenticated HTTP POST or GET requests to plugin action handlers without triggering permission errors.
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Stop Identity AttacksDetection Methods for CVE-2025-31843
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected changes to WordPress or WooCommerce content originating from non-administrator accounts
- Authenticated HTTP requests from Subscriber or Contributor accounts targeting openai-tools-for-wp-wc plugin endpoints
- Anomalous OpenAI API calls or usage spikes tied to the plugin's integration
Detection Strategies
- Audit WordPress access logs for requests to admin-ajax.php or admin-post.php with action parameters referencing the OpenAI Tools plugin from low-privileged sessions
- Review WordPress activity logs for content modifications performed by accounts that should not hold editing privileges
- Correlate plugin invocation patterns against user role assignments to surface authorization anomalies
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable a WordPress audit logging plugin to record all plugin action invocations and the acting user's role
- Forward web server access logs to a centralized log platform and alert on plugin endpoint access by non-admin users
- Monitor OpenAI API billing and usage dashboards for unexplained consumption tied to the plugin
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-31843
Immediate Actions Required
- Deactivate the openai-tools-for-wp-wc plugin until a patched version is confirmed available and installed
- Audit existing WordPress user accounts and remove or downgrade unnecessary low-privilege accounts that could be used for exploitation
- Restrict new user registration on WordPress sites that do not require it
Patch Information
At the time of publication, the vulnerability affects all versions through 2.2.1. Consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the plugin vendor page for updated patch availability. Upgrade to a fixed release as soon as the vendor publishes one.
Workarounds
- Use a web application firewall (WAF) rule to block requests from non-administrator sessions to plugin action endpoints
- Enforce least-privilege role assignments and disable open user registration on affected sites
- Isolate the WordPress instance behind authenticated access controls until remediation is applied
# Disable open registration and deactivate the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI
wp option update users_can_register 0
wp plugin deactivate openai-tools-for-wp-wc
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
