CVE-2025-53217: AIO WP Builder Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-53217 Overview

CVE-2025-53217 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability affecting the AIO WP Builder WordPress plugin developed by staviravn. This broken access control flaw allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially enabling unauthorized actions within WordPress installations running vulnerable versions of the plugin.

The vulnerability stems from CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), where the plugin fails to properly verify user permissions before allowing access to certain functionality. This type of flaw can allow authenticated attackers with elevated privileges to perform actions beyond their intended scope, potentially impacting the confidentiality of sensitive data and causing limited availability disruptions.

Critical Impact

Attackers with high-privileged access can bypass authorization controls to access sensitive information across security boundaries, potentially compromising multiple sites in a WordPress multisite environment.

Affected Products

• AIO WP Builder plugin versions up to and including 2.0.2
• WordPress installations with AIO WP Builder enabled
• All-in-one-wp-builder WordPress plugin (all-in-one-wp-builder slug)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-20 - CVE-2025-53217 published to NVD
• 2026-02-26 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-53217

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability represents a Missing Authorization flaw (CWE-862) in the AIO WP Builder WordPress plugin. The issue arises from the plugin's failure to implement proper authorization checks on sensitive functionality, allowing users to bypass intended access control restrictions.

The attack vector is network-based, meaning exploitation can occur remotely over standard HTTP/HTTPS connections to the WordPress site. While the vulnerability requires high-privileged authentication to exploit, the scope is changed, indicating that successful exploitation can impact resources beyond the vulnerable component itself—a critical consideration for WordPress multisite deployments.

The primary impact is on confidentiality, with potential for high-severity data exposure. Additionally, there is a low impact on availability, suggesting the vulnerability could be leveraged to cause minor service disruptions.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-53217 is the absence of proper authorization verification within the AIO WP Builder plugin. WordPress plugins are expected to implement capability checks using functions like current_user_can() to verify that the authenticated user has appropriate permissions before executing privileged operations.

In this case, the plugin fails to enforce these authorization checks on one or more sensitive endpoints or functions, creating a broken access control condition. This allows authenticated users to perform actions that should be restricted to specific user roles or capabilities.

Attack Vector

The attack requires network access to a WordPress installation running a vulnerable version of AIO WP Builder (version 2.0.2 or earlier). An attacker with high-level privileges (such as an administrator on one site in a multisite network) could leverage this vulnerability to:

1. Access functionality or data intended for other security contexts
2. Bypass role-based access control restrictions
3. Potentially extract sensitive configuration data or user information
4. Cause limited disruption to service availability

The cross-scope nature of this vulnerability means that exploitation could allow access to resources outside the immediate security boundary of the vulnerable component, making it particularly concerning in shared hosting or multisite WordPress environments.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-53217

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual access patterns to AIO WP Builder plugin endpoints from high-privileged accounts
• Unauthorized API calls or AJAX requests to plugin functionality
• Unexpected data access or extraction activities in WordPress access logs
• Cross-site access attempts in WordPress multisite environments

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress audit logs for unauthorized access attempts to AIO WP Builder functionality
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect broken access control exploitation patterns
• Review PHP error logs for authorization-related warnings or errors from the plugin
• Enable WordPress debug logging to capture suspicious plugin behavior

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure real-time alerting for unusual administrative actions within WordPress
• Implement file integrity monitoring on the wp-content/plugins/all-in-one-wp-builder/ directory
• Monitor database queries for unexpected data access patterns
• Review user activity logs for privilege escalation indicators

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-53217

Immediate Actions Required

• Identify all WordPress installations using AIO WP Builder version 2.0.2 or earlier
• Disable or deactivate the AIO WP Builder plugin until a patched version is available
• Review user accounts and revoke unnecessary high-level privileges
• Implement additional access control measures at the web server or WAF level

Patch Information

As of the last update on 2026-02-26, administrators should monitor the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for patch availability and updated remediation guidance. Contact the plugin developer (staviravn) for information on security updates.

Organizations should subscribe to WordPress security advisories and Patchstack notifications to receive immediate alerts when a patched version becomes available.

Workarounds

• Deactivate the AIO WP Builder plugin until a security patch is released
• Restrict administrative access to trusted IP addresses using .htaccess or web server configuration
• Implement WordPress security hardening practices including strong authentication requirements
• Consider using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with WordPress-specific rulesets to detect and block exploitation attempts

# WordPress .htaccess restriction example
# Restrict wp-admin access to trusted IPs only
<Files wp-login.php>
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
    Allow from YOUR_TRUSTED_IP
</Files>