CVE-2025-49990: Contentstudio Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-49990 Overview

CVE-2025-49990 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the ContentStudio WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.3.7. Attackers can access plugin functionality that is not properly constrained by Access Control Lists (ACLs). The vulnerability is tracked under CWE-862: Missing Authorization.

The issue is exploitable over the network without authentication or user interaction. Successful exploitation results in limited integrity impact on affected WordPress sites. Site administrators running ContentStudio should treat this as a broken access control issue requiring prompt remediation.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated network-based attackers can invoke ContentStudio plugin functionality that should be restricted, allowing unauthorized modification of plugin-controlled data.

Affected Products

ContentStudio WordPress plugin versions through 1.3.7
WordPress sites with the ContentStudio plugin enabled
Any hosting environment exposing the vulnerable plugin endpoints to the internet

Discovery Timeline

2025-06-20 - CVE-2025-49990 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-49990

Vulnerability Analysis

The ContentStudio plugin exposes functionality without enforcing capability or role checks. WordPress plugins typically protect privileged actions with current_user_can() checks and nonce validation. When these checks are absent or incomplete, unauthenticated users can invoke actions intended for administrators or editors.

Based on the Patchstack Vulnerability Report, the flaw is categorized as broken access control. The impact is limited to integrity, meaning attackers can modify data but cannot directly read confidential information or crash the site. The EPSS probability for exploitation is 0.249%.

Root Cause

The root cause is a missing authorization check in one or more plugin action handlers. AJAX endpoints or REST routes registered by the plugin lack sufficient permission callbacks. Without an authorization gate, the plugin trusts any caller regardless of session state or user role.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires only network access to the target WordPress site. An attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to the vulnerable plugin endpoint. Because privileges required are none and no user interaction is needed, automated scanners can identify and abuse vulnerable installations at scale. Technical details of the specific endpoint are documented in the Patchstack advisory linked in the references.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49990

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected POST or GET requests to ContentStudio plugin AJAX endpoints under /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with plugin-specific action parameters
Requests to plugin REST routes from unauthenticated sources or unusual user agents
Unauthorized changes to ContentStudio configuration, content, or settings without corresponding administrator login events

Detection Strategies

Monitor WordPress access logs for requests targeting ContentStudio action names originating from IPs without valid authenticated sessions
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that inspects requests to the plugin endpoints and enforces authentication
Enable WordPress activity logging plugins to record plugin-level API calls and correlate them with authenticated user sessions

Monitoring Recommendations

Alert on anomalous traffic spikes to admin-ajax.php referencing ContentStudio actions
Track plugin version inventory across all managed WordPress instances and flag any running 1.3.7 or earlier
Correlate WordPress audit logs with edge proxy logs to identify unauthenticated actors invoking privileged actions

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49990

Immediate Actions Required

Update the ContentStudio plugin to the version released after 1.3.7 that addresses the missing authorization issue
If a patched version is not yet available, disable and remove the ContentStudio plugin until a fix is published
Audit WordPress logs for evidence of unauthorized calls to ContentStudio endpoints since the plugin was installed

Patch Information

Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the fixed version and vendor guidance. Apply the update through the standard WordPress plugin update workflow and verify the installed version after upgrade.

Workarounds

Restrict access to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php and plugin REST routes at the WAF or reverse proxy layer, allowing only authenticated sessions
Deploy Patchstack or an equivalent virtual patching service to filter malicious requests targeting the vulnerable endpoints
Temporarily deactivate the ContentStudio plugin if the site does not depend on its functionality

bash

# Example: list installed plugin version and disable via WP-CLI
wp plugin get contentstudio --field=version
wp plugin deactivate contentstudio

# After patch is available, update and re-enable
wp plugin update contentstudio
wp plugin activate contentstudio