CVE-2025-69349: RSS Feed Widget Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-69349 Overview

A Missing Authorization vulnerability has been identified in the RSS Feed Widget WordPress plugin developed by Fahad Mahmood. This vulnerability allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially enabling unauthorized access to plugin functionality that should be restricted to authenticated users with appropriate privileges.

The vulnerability stems from inadequate authorization checks within the plugin, classified as CWE-862 (Missing Authorization). This type of flaw occurs when an application fails to perform proper authorization checks before allowing access to protected resources or functions.

Critical Impact

Unauthorized users with low-level privileges can potentially access or modify RSS Feed Widget functionality without proper authorization, leading to potential information disclosure and integrity issues.

Affected Products

• RSS Feed Widget plugin version 3.0.2 and earlier
• WordPress installations running vulnerable versions of RSS Feed Widget

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-06 - CVE CVE-2025-69349 published to NVD
• 2026-01-08 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-69349

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability represents a Broken Access Control flaw within the RSS Feed Widget WordPress plugin. The plugin fails to implement proper authorization checks on certain functionality, allowing authenticated users with minimal privileges to access or perform actions that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles such as administrators.

The network-based attack vector indicates that exploitation can occur remotely through standard HTTP requests to the WordPress installation. The vulnerability requires the attacker to have at least low-level authentication (such as a subscriber account), but no user interaction is required to exploit the flaw.

Successful exploitation could result in limited confidentiality and integrity impacts, allowing unauthorized access to plugin settings or data, and potentially the ability to modify RSS feed configurations without proper authorization.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the absence of proper capability checks or nonce verification within the RSS Feed Widget plugin's access control implementation. WordPress plugins should validate user capabilities using functions like current_user_can() before performing sensitive operations. When these checks are missing or improperly implemented, users with lower privileges can access functionality intended only for administrators.

Attack Vector

The attack can be executed over the network by any authenticated WordPress user. The attacker would need to:

1. Obtain a low-privileged account on the target WordPress installation (such as a subscriber role)
2. Identify the vulnerable endpoint or function within the RSS Feed Widget plugin
3. Send crafted requests to access or modify restricted functionality
4. Bypass the intended access controls due to missing authorization checks

The vulnerability does not require user interaction and can be exploited directly by the attacker once authenticated with any level of access to the WordPress site.

For detailed technical information about this vulnerability, refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-69349

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected modifications to RSS Feed Widget settings by non-administrator users
• Unusual access patterns to WordPress admin AJAX endpoints related to RSS feed functionality
• Log entries showing subscriber or contributor accounts accessing plugin administration functions
• Unexplained changes to RSS feed configurations or widget display settings

Detection Strategies

• Review WordPress access logs for requests to RSS Feed Widget endpoints from low-privileged user accounts
• Monitor plugin settings for unauthorized modifications using WordPress activity logging plugins
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect anomalous requests to plugin-specific endpoints
• Audit user role capabilities and ensure proper role-based access control is enforced

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging for all WordPress administrative actions
• Deploy WordPress security plugins that monitor for broken access control attempts
• Configure alerts for any plugin setting modifications by non-administrator accounts
• Regularly audit user accounts and remove unnecessary subscriber or contributor accounts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-69349

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the RSS Feed Widget plugin to a patched version when available from the developer
• Audit current plugin settings to ensure no unauthorized modifications have occurred
• Review user accounts and restrict low-privilege accounts that do not require access
• Consider temporarily disabling the RSS Feed Widget plugin until a patch is released
• Implement additional access control at the web server or WAF level

Patch Information

As of the last update on 2026-01-08, users should check for an updated version of the RSS Feed Widget plugin that addresses this authorization bypass vulnerability. Monitor the official WordPress plugin repository and the Patchstack advisory for patch availability.

Workarounds

• Restrict plugin functionality to only trusted administrator accounts
• Use a WordPress security plugin to enforce additional capability checks
• Implement IP-based access restrictions for administrative functions
• Remove unused user accounts, especially those with subscriber or contributor roles
• Consider using an alternative RSS feed widget plugin until a patch is available

# WordPress CLI command to list and audit user roles
wp user list --fields=ID,user_login,display_name,roles

# Check for any users with unnecessary access
wp user list --role=subscriber --fields=ID,user_login,user_email

# Disable the vulnerable plugin temporarily
wp plugin deactivate rss-feed-widget