CVE-2025-57884 Overview
CVE-2025-57884 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the Greenshift animation and page builder blocks plugin for WordPress, developed by wpsoul. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 12.1.1. It stems from incorrectly configured access control security levels that allow authenticated users with low privileges to invoke plugin functionality intended for higher-privileged roles. The weakness is tracked under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) and is exploitable over the network with low attack complexity.
Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers with low-level WordPress accounts can access functionality that should require elevated privileges, resulting in limited integrity impact on affected sites.
Affected Products
- wpsoul Greenshift (greenshift-animation-and-page-builder-blocks) plugin for WordPress
- All versions from initial release through 12.1.1
- WordPress sites with the plugin installed and active
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-08-22 - CVE-2025-57884 published to the National Vulnerability Database
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-57884
Vulnerability Analysis
The Greenshift plugin exposes one or more plugin actions without enforcing adequate capability or nonce checks. An attacker holding a low-privileged WordPress account, such as Subscriber, can send a crafted request to the vulnerable endpoint. Because the plugin fails to validate the requester's role against the required privilege level, the action executes successfully.
The impact is scoped to integrity. Confidentiality and availability are not affected based on the published vector. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and the attack surface is reachable over the network through standard WordPress AJAX or REST handlers.
Root Cause
The root cause is a broken access control pattern in the plugin's request handlers. The code registers callable actions but does not call current_user_can() against an appropriate capability, or the capability check uses a role threshold that is too permissive. This matches the CWE-862 pattern where the application performs an action without verifying that the actor is authorized to perform it.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires an authenticated session on the target WordPress instance. The attacker sends an HTTP request to the vulnerable plugin endpoint with parameters that trigger the protected action. No social engineering, user interaction, or local access is needed. Sites that allow open user registration are more exposed because any visitor can obtain the baseline privilege required to abuse the flaw.
Technical details are available in the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.
Detect Identity Attacks the Moment Authentication Fails
Singularity™ Identity surfaces credential misuse, lateral movement, and privilege escalation in real time, so you can contain the breach before it spreads.
Stop Identity AttacksDetection Methods for CVE-2025-57884
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected modifications to Greenshift block content, templates, or plugin settings performed by low-privileged accounts.
- WordPress audit log entries showing Subscriber-level users invoking admin-ajax.php or REST routes associated with the Greenshift plugin.
- New or altered posts, pages, or blocks that reference Greenshift components outside of normal editorial workflows.
Detection Strategies
- Inspect web server access logs for requests to Greenshift plugin endpoints originating from accounts that do not hold Editor or Administrator roles.
- Compare installed plugin versions across the estate and flag any instance of greenshift-animation-and-page-builder-blocks at version 12.1.1 or below.
- Correlate authentication events with subsequent plugin action calls to identify low-privileged users triggering administrative-grade functionality.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable WordPress activity logging that captures both AJAX and REST API calls, including the acting user role.
- Alert on new user registrations followed shortly by requests to plugin-managed endpoints.
- Monitor file integrity of theme and plugin assets that Greenshift can modify through its block rendering pipeline.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-57884
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the Greenshift plugin to a release later than 12.1.1 once the vendor publishes a fixed version.
- Audit WordPress user accounts and remove any unknown or stale low-privileged users.
- Disable open user registration on sites that do not require it to reduce the exploitable population.
Patch Information
The vulnerability affects Greenshift versions up to and including 12.1.1. Site operators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the vendor's plugin listing for the fixed release and upgrade guidance.
Workarounds
- Deactivate the Greenshift plugin until a patched version is installed if the plugin is not business-critical.
- Apply a web application firewall rule that restricts access to Greenshift plugin endpoints to Editor and Administrator roles.
- Enforce strong authentication and multi-factor authentication on all WordPress accounts to limit account takeover that could precede exploitation.
# Example WP-CLI command to list installed Greenshift version
wp plugin get greenshift-animation-and-page-builder-blocks --field=version
# Deactivate the plugin as a temporary workaround
wp plugin deactivate greenshift-animation-and-page-builder-blocks
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
