CVE-2025-62150: History Timeline Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-62150 Overview

CVE-2025-62150 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] in the themesawesome History Timeline (timeline-awesome) WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.0.6. Authenticated attackers with low-privilege accounts can invoke plugin functionality that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles. The issue stems from incorrectly configured access control checks on plugin endpoints. Successful exploitation allows unauthorized modification of plugin data, though confidentiality and availability remain unaffected based on the published CVSS vector.

Critical Impact
Authenticated users with minimal privileges can perform actions restricted to higher-privileged roles due to missing authorization checks in the History Timeline plugin.

Affected Products

themesawesome History Timeline WordPress plugin (timeline-awesome)
All versions from n/a through 1.0.6
WordPress sites with the plugin installed and activated

Discovery Timeline

2025-12-31 - CVE-2025-62150 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-62150

Vulnerability Analysis

The History Timeline plugin exposes one or more actions that lack proper capability checks. Authenticated users with low privileges, such as Subscriber, can reach code paths intended for administrators. The plugin relies on incorrectly configured access control security levels, permitting requests that should be denied. Attackers exploit this by sending authenticated HTTP requests to the affected plugin endpoints. The impact is limited to integrity because the accessible functionality modifies plugin state without exposing sensitive data or causing denial of service.

Root Cause

The root cause is a missing authorization check [CWE-862]. The plugin's action handlers do not call current_user_can() with an appropriate capability, or they rely on nonce validation alone as a security control. Nonces prevent cross-site request forgery but do not enforce authorization. Any authenticated user who can obtain a valid nonce reaches the protected functionality.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access and a valid authenticated session on the target WordPress site. The attacker sends a crafted request to a plugin AJAX action or REST endpoint. Because the endpoint does not verify the caller's role or capability, the request executes with the plugin's intended privilege level. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for endpoint specifics.

No verified proof-of-concept code has been published. The vulnerability manifests through standard WordPress AJAX or REST calls to the plugin's registered handlers without capability enforcement.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-62150

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected modifications to History Timeline plugin content, entries, or configuration
Authenticated requests from low-privilege user accounts targeting admin-ajax.php with timeline-awesome action parameters
New or altered timeline entries with no corresponding administrator action in WordPress audit logs

Detection Strategies

Enumerate installed WordPress plugins across the environment and identify hosts running timeline-awesome version 1.0.6 or earlier
Review web server access logs for POST requests to plugin endpoints originating from users with Subscriber or Contributor roles
Correlate WordPress user activity logs against plugin state changes to identify unauthorized modifications

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose WordPress logging for plugin actions and user role assignments
Alert on any HTTP request to admin-ajax.php referencing timeline-awesome actions from non-administrator sessions
Monitor plugin file integrity and database tables associated with the History Timeline plugin for unauthorized changes

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-62150

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress installations running the History Timeline plugin version 1.0.6 or earlier
Deactivate the plugin until a patched version is confirmed installed
Audit user accounts and remove unnecessary low-privilege accounts that could be leveraged for exploitation
Review recent plugin activity and timeline content for signs of unauthorized modification

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no fixed version has been documented in the CVE record. Monitor the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the plugin's WordPress.org page for a patched release above 1.0.6. Apply the update immediately when available.

Workarounds

Deactivate and remove the timeline-awesome plugin until a fixed version is released
Restrict registration on WordPress sites to reduce the pool of authenticated accounts available to attackers
Deploy a web application firewall rule to block requests to plugin AJAX or REST endpoints from non-administrator sessions
Enforce least privilege by reviewing and downgrading unnecessary user roles

bash

# Deactivate the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate timeline-awesome

# Optionally remove it entirely until a patch is available
wp plugin uninstall timeline-awesome

# List remaining installations to confirm removal
wp plugin list --name=timeline-awesome