CVE-2025-58673: WP User Frontend Code Injection RCE Flaw

CVE-2025-58673 Overview

CVE-2025-58673 is a code injection vulnerability in the weDevs WP User Frontend plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 4.1.12. An authenticated attacker with low privileges can inject and execute arbitrary code through insufficient input controls in the plugin's content generation logic. The vulnerability is tracked under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code.

Critical Impact
Attackers holding low-privilege WordPress accounts can inject code that compromises confidentiality and integrity of the site, potentially altering published content or executing attacker-controlled logic on the server.

Affected Products

weDevs WP User Frontend plugin for WordPress
All versions from n/a through 4.1.12
WordPress sites running the vulnerable plugin with user registration or front-end submission enabled

Discovery Timeline

2025-09-22 - CVE-2025-58673 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-58673

Vulnerability Analysis

The WP User Frontend plugin enables site visitors and registered users to submit posts, profiles, and other content from the front end of a WordPress site. The plugin fails to properly control code generation when processing user-supplied input. This weakness maps to CWE-94, Improper Control of Generation of Code, commonly known as code injection.

An authenticated user with low privileges can craft input that the plugin interprets as executable code or template directives. The exploitation path requires network access to the WordPress site and a valid low-privilege account, which many WordPress installations grant by default through open registration.

The impact scope is limited to the vulnerable WordPress instance without crossing security boundaries. Confidentiality and integrity are impacted at a low level; availability is not affected. See the Patchstack WP User Frontend advisory for advisory details.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient sanitization of user-controlled fields that feed into a code or template generation routine. When the plugin processes these fields, injected payloads become part of the generated output or execution context rather than being treated as inert data.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access and an authenticated session with at least low-level privileges such as Subscriber or Contributor. The attacker submits crafted content through a plugin-provided form or endpoint. The plugin then generates code or content containing the injected payload without user interaction beyond the attacker's own request.

The vulnerability mechanism is described in the Patchstack advisory. No public proof-of-concept exploit code is available at the time of writing.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-58673

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected posts, pages, or user profile fields containing template placeholders, PHP tags, or shortcode-like syntax originating from low-privilege accounts
New or modified content authored by Subscriber or Contributor accounts that includes markup inconsistent with normal user submissions
Anomalous outbound requests from the WordPress host following front-end form submissions
Unexpected changes to plugin option values in the wp_options table

Detection Strategies

Review WordPress audit logs for form submissions from low-privilege accounts, correlating with new content creation events
Inspect the WP User Frontend submission endpoints in web server logs for POST requests containing suspicious payloads such as PHP tags or template syntax
Compare installed plugin version against 4.1.12 across all managed WordPress sites

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable file integrity monitoring on the wp-content/plugins/wp-user-frontend/ directory and generated content files
Alert on creation or elevation of low-privilege WordPress accounts followed by rapid content submission
Forward WordPress and web server logs to a centralized analytics platform for correlation and retention

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-58673

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress installations running WP User Frontend version 4.1.12 or earlier
Update WP User Frontend to a fixed release published after 4.1.12 as soon as the vendor makes it available
Temporarily disable open user registration or restrict submission forms if patching cannot be completed immediately
Audit recent submissions and user-generated content for injected payloads

Patch Information

The vulnerability affects WP User Frontend versions up to and including 4.1.12. Administrators should monitor the Patchstack advisory and the official WP User Frontend plugin page for the fixed release and upgrade guidance.

Workarounds

Deactivate the WP User Frontend plugin until a patched version is installed
Restrict user registration to trusted administrators only and remove existing untrusted low-privilege accounts
Deploy a web application firewall rule to block requests containing PHP tags, template directives, or code-like payloads in WP User Frontend submission endpoints
Apply least-privilege role assignments so that Subscribers and Contributors cannot access plugin submission features

bash

# Configuration example: disable open registration and block risky payload patterns
# 1. Disable open user registration via WP-CLI
wp option update users_can_register 0

# 2. Deactivate the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate wp-user-frontend

# 3. Example ModSecurity rule to block PHP tag payloads to plugin endpoints
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains wp-user-frontend" \
  "chain,id:1058673,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Potential CVE-2025-58673 code injection attempt'"
  SecRule ARGS "@rx <\?(php|=)" "t:none,t:lowercase"