CVE-2025-54697 Overview
CVE-2025-54697 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in the StellarWP Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer plugin for WordPress. The flaw stems from incorrect privilege assignment [CWE-266] and affects all plugin versions up to and including 1.5.16. An authenticated attacker with high privileges can leverage this weakness to elevate their access within the WordPress environment. Successful exploitation impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected site. The vulnerability is tracked by Patchstack and was assigned a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.2. No public proof-of-concept code or in-the-wild exploitation has been reported at this time.
Critical Impact
Authenticated users can escalate privileges on WordPress sites running Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer <= 1.5.16, potentially gaining full administrative control over the site and its WooCommerce data.
Affected Products
- StellarWP Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer plugin for WordPress
- All versions from initial release through 1.5.16
- WordPress sites running WooCommerce with the affected plugin installed
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-08-14 - CVE-2025-54697 published to the National Vulnerability Database
- 2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-54697
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability is classified under [CWE-266] Incorrect Privilege Assignment. The plugin assigns privileges to users or operations without sufficiently validating whether the caller should receive them. As a result, an authenticated account is able to perform actions reserved for higher-privileged roles. In a WooCommerce context, abuse of this flaw can expose customer data, order records, and store configuration. Attackers gaining administrator-level capabilities can install arbitrary plugins, modify themes, or execute code through standard WordPress administrative functionality.
Root Cause
The plugin code paths responsible for permission checks fail to enforce role boundaries consistently. Specific endpoints or callbacks treat a lower-privileged authenticated user as eligible to perform administrative operations. Patchstack categorizes the defect as a privilege escalation issue introduced in the plugin's capability handling logic through version 1.5.16.
Attack Vector
The attack vector is network-based and requires the attacker to hold an existing authenticated session with elevated but non-administrative privileges. No user interaction is required from another party. The attacker invokes affected plugin functionality to perform actions that should be gated to administrators. The vulnerability mechanism is documented in the Patchstack Vulnerability Report. No verified exploit code is publicly available.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-54697
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected changes to WordPress user roles or capabilities, particularly accounts gaining administrator or manage_options rights
- New administrative users created shortly after authenticated sessions from lower-privileged accounts
- Modifications to email template settings or WooCommerce configuration by non-administrator accounts
- Installation of unfamiliar plugins or themes following plugin endpoint requests
Detection Strategies
- Audit the WordPress wp_usermeta table for unauthorized changes to the wp_capabilities field
- Review web server access logs for requests to Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer endpoints from non-administrator sessions
- Compare installed plugin versions against the vulnerable range <= 1.5.16 across managed WordPress sites
- Enable WordPress audit logging plugins to capture role changes and privileged actions
Monitoring Recommendations
- Forward WordPress and web server logs to a centralized SIEM for correlation of authentication and privilege change events
- Alert on creation of new administrator accounts or escalation of existing accounts outside change windows
- Monitor file integrity for wp-content/plugins/kadence-woocommerce-email-designer/ to detect tampering
- Track outbound connections from the web server that may indicate post-exploitation activity
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-54697
Immediate Actions Required
- Identify all WordPress installations running Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer <= 1.5.16 and prioritize them for remediation
- Update the plugin to a patched version once released by StellarWP, or deactivate and remove the plugin if a fix is not yet available
- Review all user accounts for unauthorized privilege changes and revoke unexpected administrative rights
- Rotate credentials for administrator and editor accounts on affected sites
Patch Information
Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the current patch status and upgrade guidance. Apply vendor updates as soon as they are published and verify the installed version after upgrade.
Workarounds
- Deactivate the Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer plugin until a patched version is installed
- Restrict access to the WordPress admin area using IP allowlists or a web application firewall
- Enforce least privilege by limiting the number of accounts with editor or higher roles
- Enable multi-factor authentication for all privileged WordPress accounts to reduce the value of compromised credentials
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
