CVE-2025-48142 Overview
CVE-2025-48142 is an Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability [CWE-266] in the Saad Iqbal Bookify plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions from initial release through 1.0.9 and enables authenticated users to escalate privileges beyond their assigned role. An attacker with low-level access can leverage the issue to gain administrative control over the affected WordPress site.
Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers with low privileges can escalate to administrator, leading to full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected WordPress installation.
Affected Products
- Saad Iqbal Bookify WordPress plugin (all versions up to and including 1.0.9)
- WordPress sites running the vulnerable Bookify plugin
- Multi-site WordPress deployments with Bookify installed on subsites
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-08-20 - CVE-2025-48142 published to the National Vulnerability Database
- 2026-04-23 - Record last modified in NVD
Technical Details for CVE-2025-48142
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability stems from incorrect privilege assignment within the Bookify plugin's role-handling logic. The plugin assigns privileges to users without enforcing proper authorization checks tied to the requesting user's role. This allows an authenticated user to receive capabilities reserved for higher-privileged accounts, including administrator-level functions.
Exploitation requires only network access and a low-privileged authenticated session. No user interaction is needed, and the attack complexity is low. Because the issue affects how the plugin grants capabilities rather than how it stores data, successful exploitation results in persistent privilege changes that survive subsequent sessions.
Root Cause
The root cause is mapped to [CWE-266: Incorrect Privilege Assignment]. The Bookify plugin grants privileges in code paths that do not adequately verify whether the calling user is authorized to assume the target role. Missing or insufficient capability checks (such as current_user_can() validation) allow the privilege change to complete for any authenticated request that reaches the vulnerable endpoint.
Attack Vector
The attack vector is network-based and requires an authenticated subscriber-level account. An attacker who registers as a standard WordPress user, or who compromises any low-privileged account, can invoke the vulnerable plugin functionality to elevate their own account to administrator. From there, the attacker can install malicious plugins, modify site content, exfiltrate user data, or pivot to the underlying host. Refer to the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Advisory for further technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-48142
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected role changes in the wp_usermeta table for accounts that should remain at subscriber or customer level
- New administrator accounts that do not correspond to legitimate provisioning activity
- Installation of unfamiliar plugins or themes following access by a low-privileged account
- HTTP requests to Bookify plugin endpoints originating from non-administrator sessions
Detection Strategies
- Audit the WordPress user role history and compare against approved administrator lists
- Inspect web server access logs for POST requests targeting Bookify plugin endpoints by users whose session cookies map to non-admin accounts
- Enable WordPress audit logging plugins to record set_role and capability modifications in real time
Monitoring Recommendations
- Alert on any change to the wp_capabilities user meta key for existing accounts
- Monitor for the creation of new users with the administrator role outside standard provisioning workflows
- Track plugin and theme installations triggered by recently elevated accounts
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-48142
Immediate Actions Required
- Deactivate the Bookify plugin on all WordPress sites until a patched release is confirmed installed
- Review all WordPress user accounts and remove any unauthorized administrator-level users
- Force password resets for all accounts and invalidate active sessions on affected sites
- Rotate WordPress secret keys defined in wp-config.php to terminate any persisted authenticated sessions
Patch Information
At the time of publication, the advisory lists affected versions through 1.0.9. Site administrators should consult the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Advisory for the latest fixed version availability and upgrade to a version higher than 1.0.9 once released by the vendor.
Workarounds
- Remove or deactivate the Bookify plugin entirely until a patched version is available
- Restrict new user registration on affected WordPress sites by disabling the Membership option under Settings > General
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall rule to block unauthenticated and low-privileged access to Bookify plugin endpoints
- Apply the principle of least privilege and avoid granting subscriber or customer roles unless required
# Configuration example: disable the Bookify plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate bookify
wp plugin delete bookify
# Disable open user registration
wp option update users_can_register 0
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
