CVE-2025-49289: PDF for WPForms Authorization Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-49289 Overview

CVE-2025-49289 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the PDF for WPForms plugin (pdf-for-wpforms) by add-ons.org for WordPress. The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 5.5.0. Authenticated users with low privileges can exploit incorrectly configured access control checks to perform actions that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles. The issue is classified under [CWE-862: Missing Authorization]. It impacts WordPress sites that generate PDFs from WPForms submissions, potentially exposing form data or configuration to unauthorized users.

Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers with low privileges can bypass access control checks in the PDF for WPForms plugin, leading to limited integrity impact on WordPress installations running versions up to 5.5.0.

Affected Products

add-ons.org PDF for WPForms plugin
WordPress installations using pdf-for-wpforms versions from n/a through 5.5.0
Sites relying on the plugin for automated PDF generation from WPForms submissions

Discovery Timeline

2025-06-06 - CVE-2025-49289 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-49289

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from missing authorization checks within the PDF for WPForms plugin. The plugin exposes functionality that fails to verify whether the requesting user holds sufficient capabilities before executing sensitive actions. An authenticated attacker with any low-privileged role, such as Subscriber, can invoke these endpoints over the network without additional user interaction. The result is a scope-changing access control failure that permits limited unauthorized modification of plugin-related data. See the Patchstack WPForms Vulnerability Report for the vendor-tracked details.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of capability checks and nonce validation on plugin actions handling PDF generation and configuration. WordPress plugins are expected to call current_user_can() and verify nonces via check_ajax_referer() before performing privileged operations. The pdf-for-wpforms plugin omits or misconfigures these checks in one or more request handlers. This maps directly to [CWE-862], where the software does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires an authenticated session on the target WordPress site. The attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to the vulnerable plugin endpoints, invoking functionality reserved for administrators. Because the flaw is network-reachable and requires no user interaction, any registered user can trigger it. The Exploit Prediction Scoring System places the likelihood of active exploitation at a low percentile, and no public proof-of-concept or in-the-wild exploitation has been reported.

The vulnerability manifests in plugin request handlers that dispatch PDF-related actions without validating the caller's role. Refer to the Patchstack advisory linked above for technical details on the affected handlers.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49289

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected HTTP POST requests to admin-ajax.php or plugin-specific endpoints originating from low-privileged user sessions targeting pdf-for-wpforms actions.
Newly generated or modified PDF artifacts in the WordPress uploads directory that do not correspond to legitimate form submissions.
WordPress audit log entries showing configuration changes to the PDF for WPForms plugin performed by non-administrator accounts.

Detection Strategies

Review web server access logs for requests to plugin endpoints containing pdf-for-wpforms action parameters from authenticated sessions tied to Subscriber or Contributor roles.
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that flags authenticated requests to the plugin's AJAX handlers where the user lacks the manage_options capability.
Correlate WordPress user activity with plugin action invocations using an audit logging plugin to surface anomalous privilege usage.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose logging on the WordPress installation and forward events to a centralized logging platform for retention and analysis.
Monitor account creation events on the WordPress site, as attackers commonly register low-privileged accounts to reach authenticated-only vulnerabilities.
Track file integrity changes in the wp-content/uploads and wp-content/plugins/pdf-for-wpforms directories to detect unexpected writes.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49289

Immediate Actions Required

Update the PDF for WPForms plugin to a version later than 5.5.0 as soon as the vendor publishes a patched release.
Audit existing WordPress user accounts and remove or downgrade any low-privileged accounts that are not required for site operation.
Disable open user registration on the WordPress site if it is not needed for business functionality.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, the enriched CVE data references the Patchstack WPForms Vulnerability Report as the authoritative source. Site administrators should consult Patchstack and the plugin's WordPress.org listing for the fixed version and apply the update through the WordPress admin dashboard or via WP-CLI using wp plugin update pdf-for-wpforms.

Workarounds

Deactivate the pdf-for-wpforms plugin until a patched version is installed if PDF generation is not business-critical.
Apply a virtual patch through a WordPress firewall plugin or upstream WAF to block unauthenticated and low-privileged access to the plugin's action handlers.
Restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php from untrusted networks where feasible using IP allowlisting at the web server or reverse proxy layer.

bash

# Configuration example: disable the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate pdf-for-wpforms

# After the vendor releases a fixed version, update and reactivate
wp plugin update pdf-for-wpforms
wp plugin activate pdf-for-wpforms