CVE-2025-49980 Overview
CVE-2025-49980 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] in the WP User Profile Avatar plugin developed by WP Event Manager for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.0.6. Improperly configured access control levels allow authenticated users with low privileges to reach plugin functionality that should be restricted. An attacker exploiting this weakness can access data or perform actions outside their intended authorization scope.
Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers with low privileges can bypass access control checks in the WP User Profile Avatar plugin and interact with restricted plugin functionality without proper authorization.
Affected Products
- WP Event Manager – WP User Profile Avatar plugin (wp-user-profile-avatar)
- Versions from n/a through 1.0.6
- WordPress sites with the vulnerable plugin installed and activated
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-06-20 - CVE-2025-49980 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-49980
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability results from missing authorization checks on functionality exposed by the WP User Profile Avatar plugin. The plugin fails to verify that the requesting user holds the required capability before executing sensitive operations. Any authenticated user, including low-privilege roles such as Subscriber, can invoke functionality intended for higher-privileged users. The impact is limited to confidentiality, with no direct integrity or availability effects reported in the advisory.
Because the flaw is a broken access control issue rather than an input validation problem, it does not require crafted payloads. An attacker sends legitimate-looking requests to plugin endpoints while authenticated with any account.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of proper capability or permission checks within plugin request handlers. WordPress plugins are expected to enforce authorization using functions such as current_user_can() alongside nonce verification. In versions up to 1.0.6, the plugin omits these checks or applies them at an insufficient level, exposing restricted functionality to any authenticated session.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires network access to the target WordPress site and a valid low-privilege account. The attacker authenticates, then issues HTTP requests directly to the vulnerable plugin endpoints. No user interaction from an administrator is required. Because many WordPress deployments allow open user registration, attackers can often self-provision the required account before triggering the flaw.
Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the vendor-published technical details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49980
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected HTTP requests to wp-user-profile-avatar plugin endpoints originating from low-privilege user sessions.
- Modifications to user profile avatar records or associated metadata not initiated through the standard user interface.
- Newly registered Subscriber accounts followed shortly by requests to plugin-specific admin-ajax.php actions.
Detection Strategies
- Review WordPress access logs for authenticated requests to plugin routes from accounts that should not have administrative reach.
- Correlate WordPress audit logs with web server logs to identify authorization decisions that permitted low-privilege access to restricted actions.
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule set that flags anomalous requests to the wp-user-profile-avatar plugin from non-privileged roles.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable a WordPress activity logging plugin to capture user role, action, and target resource for each request.
- Monitor for spikes in new user registrations followed by requests to plugin endpoints.
- Alert on plugin file changes and unexpected modifications to the WordPress usermeta table.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49980
Immediate Actions Required
- Identify all WordPress installations running the WP User Profile Avatar plugin at version 1.0.6 or earlier.
- Deactivate and remove the plugin from any site where it is not required for business operations.
- Restrict new user registration and audit existing low-privilege accounts for unexpected activity.
Patch Information
The advisory does not list a fixed version at the time of publication. Administrators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the WordPress plugin repository for the latest release from WP Event Manager. Apply any subsequent update that supersedes version 1.0.6 as soon as it becomes available.
Workarounds
- Deactivate the WP User Profile Avatar plugin until a fixed version is published by the vendor.
- Restrict access to wp-admin and admin-ajax.php at the network or WAF layer for untrusted networks.
- Disable open user registration by unchecking Settings → General → Membership in the WordPress admin console.
- Enforce least privilege by auditing user roles and removing unnecessary Subscriber-level accounts.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.