CVE-2025-58783: Gutentor Authorization Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-58783 Overview

CVE-2025-58783 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the Gutentor WordPress plugin by gutentor. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 3.5.5. It stems from incorrectly configured access control security levels [CWE-862], allowing authenticated users with low privileges to perform actions that should require higher authorization.

The vulnerability is network-exploitable and requires low privileges with no user interaction. Successful exploitation results in limited integrity impact on affected WordPress sites running the Gutentor page builder plugin.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers can bypass access controls on the Gutentor plugin to perform unauthorized actions on WordPress sites, potentially modifying content or configuration without proper privileges.

Affected Products

• Gutentor WordPress plugin versions up to and including 3.5.5
• WordPress sites using the Gutentor Gutenberg block page builder
• All deployments where low-privileged authenticated users have access

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-09-05 - CVE CVE-2025-58783 published to NVD
• 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-58783

Vulnerability Analysis

The Gutentor plugin contains functionality that fails to verify whether the requesting user has sufficient authorization to perform specific actions. This maps to [CWE-862] Missing Authorization, where the application does not check if the user has the required permissions before executing a privileged operation.

An authenticated attacker with low-level privileges, such as a subscriber or contributor role, can invoke endpoints or functionality intended for administrators. The impact is limited to integrity, meaning data modification is possible but confidentiality and availability remain intact.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of capability checks within the plugin's action handlers. WordPress plugins must call current_user_can() or verify nonces alongside capability checks before executing privileged operations. Gutentor versions through 3.5.5 omit these authorization checks on affected endpoints, exposing them to any authenticated session.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access and a valid low-privileged WordPress account. An attacker authenticates to the WordPress site and sends crafted requests to the vulnerable Gutentor endpoints. Because the plugin does not enforce role-based access control, the server processes these requests as if they were authorized.

No specific code example is published for this issue. Review the Patchstack Gutentor Plugin Vulnerability advisory for technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-58783

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected content modifications or new Gutentor blocks created by low-privileged accounts
• WordPress audit log entries showing subscriber or contributor accounts invoking Gutentor admin actions
• Unusual AJAX or REST API requests to Gutentor endpoints originating from non-administrator sessions

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress REST API and admin-ajax.php traffic for Gutentor-related actions executed by non-privileged roles
• Compare the installed Gutentor plugin version against 3.5.5 and flag vulnerable instances
• Correlate authentication events with content modification events to identify privilege misuse

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed WordPress activity logging through a security plugin or SIEM integration
• Alert on any Gutentor plugin endpoint invocation by accounts below the editor role
• Track outbound requests and content changes following authentication of low-privileged accounts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-58783

Immediate Actions Required

• Identify all WordPress sites running the Gutentor plugin at version 3.5.5 or earlier
• Update Gutentor to a patched release above version 3.5.5 as published by the vendor
• Audit WordPress user roles and remove unnecessary low-privileged accounts with site access
• Review recent content and configuration changes for signs of unauthorized modification

Patch Information

The vendor has addressed this vulnerability in versions following 3.5.5. Consult the Patchstack Gutentor Plugin Vulnerability advisory for the specific fixed version and apply the update through the WordPress plugin management interface.

Workarounds

• Temporarily deactivate the Gutentor plugin until the patched version is deployed
• Restrict user registration and limit creation of low-privileged accounts
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall rule to block Gutentor endpoint requests from non-administrator sessions
• Enforce strong authentication, including multi-factor authentication, for all WordPress accounts

# Update Gutentor via WP-CLI to the latest patched version
wp plugin update gutentor

# Verify installed version
wp plugin get gutentor --field=version