CVE-2025-39554: AI Text to Speech Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-39554 Overview

CVE-2025-39554 is a missing authorization vulnerability affecting the AI Text to Speech WordPress plugin developed by Elliot Sowersby / RelyWP. The flaw stems from incorrectly configured access control security levels, categorized under [CWE-862]. Unauthenticated attackers can reach plugin functionality that should require privileged access. The issue affects all versions of the plugin up to and including 3.0.3. Successful exploitation results in limited impact to integrity and availability of WordPress sites running the vulnerable plugin.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated network attackers can invoke privileged plugin actions due to broken access control, affecting integrity and availability of the WordPress site.

Affected Products

AI Text to Speech WordPress plugin by Elliot Sowersby / RelyWP
Plugin slug: ai-text-to-speech
Versions from n/a through <= 3.0.3

Discovery Timeline

2025-04-17 - CVE-2025-39554 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-39554

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a broken access control flaw [CWE-862] in the ai-text-to-speech WordPress plugin. Plugin endpoints fail to verify whether the requester holds the required capability or role before executing sensitive operations. An unauthenticated remote attacker can send crafted HTTP requests to affected AJAX or REST handlers exposed by the plugin. The request succeeds because the authorization check is missing or improperly enforced.

Because the vulnerability requires no authentication, no user interaction, and low attack complexity, exploitation is trivial once the plugin is identified on a target site. The EPSS probability is 0.293% at the 21.365 percentile as of 2026-07-20, indicating low observed exploitation activity to date.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of capability checks such as current_user_can() or nonce verification via check_ajax_referer() on plugin request handlers. Functions that should be gated behind administrator or editor roles execute without validating the caller's permissions. This design flaw exposes plugin actions to any anonymous requester capable of reaching the WordPress site.

Attack Vector

Attack traffic originates over the network by sending HTTP POST or GET requests to WordPress endpoints registered by the plugin, such as admin-ajax.php handlers or REST routes under /wp-json/. No credentials, tokens, or user interaction are required. The attacker enumerates the plugin version through public plugin metadata or by fingerprinting known handler paths, then invokes the unprotected action directly.

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

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-39554

Indicators of Compromise

Unauthenticated POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php referencing ai-text-to-speech action names
Requests to plugin-specific REST endpoints under /wp-json/ originating from external IPs without a valid WordPress session cookie
Unexpected creation, modification, or deletion of plugin-generated audio files or settings entries in the database

Detection Strategies

Inspect web server access logs for repeated requests to admin-ajax.php with plugin-specific action parameters and no authentication cookies
Baseline plugin usage patterns and alert on anomalous request volume or unusual source IPs targeting plugin endpoints
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that requires a valid authenticated session for known plugin action names

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress audit logging to capture privileged actions and correlate them with authentication state
Forward web server and WordPress logs to a centralized SIEM for anomaly detection and long-term retention
Monitor for changes in the plugin's option keys within the wp_options table that occur without a corresponding admin login

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-39554

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress sites running the ai-text-to-speech plugin at version 3.0.3 or earlier
Update the plugin to a patched version released after 3.0.3 as soon as it becomes available from the vendor
Deactivate and remove the plugin if a patched version is not yet available and the functionality is not business-critical

Patch Information

A patched release addressing CVE-2025-39554 must be obtained from the plugin author. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the current patch status and vendor guidance. Confirm the installed version is greater than 3.0.3 after applying updates.

Workarounds

Restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php and /wp-json/ endpoints at the WAF or reverse proxy for unauthenticated clients where feasible
Apply IP allowlisting to WordPress administrative and REST paths for environments that do not require public access
Disable the plugin until an official patch is applied and verified in a staging environment

bash

# Example WAF rule (ModSecurity) blocking unauthenticated calls to the plugin action
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" \
    "chain,deny,status:403,id:1039554,msg:'Block unauthenticated ai-text-to-speech access'"
    SecRule ARGS:action "@rx ^(ai_text_to_speech|atts_).*" \
        "chain"
        SecRule &REQUEST_COOKIES:/wordpress_logged_in_/ "@eq 0"