CVE-2026-25375: Final Tiles Grid Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2026-25375 Overview

CVE-2026-25375 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability affecting the WP Chill Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid plugin (final-tiles-grid-gallery-lite) for WordPress. This broken access control flaw allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially enabling unauthorized actions within WordPress installations using the vulnerable plugin.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers with low privileges can exploit this missing authorization flaw to perform unauthorized actions, potentially affecting the availability of WordPress sites running the vulnerable plugin version.

Affected Products

• WP Chill Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid plugin versions through 3.6.10
• WordPress installations using final-tiles-grid-gallery-lite plugin
• All configurations of the affected plugin versions prior to patching

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-19 - CVE-2026-25375 published to NVD
• 2026-02-19 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-25375

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from missing authorization checks (CWE-862) in the Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid plugin. The flaw allows authenticated users with minimal privileges to bypass intended access control restrictions and perform actions that should be restricted to higher-privileged users or administrators.

The vulnerability is exploitable over the network and requires low-privilege authentication. While no user interaction is needed for exploitation, the impact is primarily limited to availability, with no direct confidentiality or integrity compromise indicated in the current assessment.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2026-25375 is improper implementation of authorization checks within the plugin's functionality. The plugin fails to properly validate whether authenticated users have the appropriate permissions before allowing certain operations. This is a classic example of broken access control where capability checks are missing or improperly implemented in WordPress plugin code.

When developing WordPress plugins, proper use of capability checks using functions like current_user_can() is essential. The absence of these checks in critical plugin functions allows lower-privileged users to access functionality intended for administrators.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this vulnerability involves an authenticated user with low-level WordPress privileges (such as a subscriber or contributor) accessing plugin functionality that should be restricted to administrators. Since no user interaction is required and the attack can be conducted over the network, exploitation is relatively straightforward once an attacker has any level of authenticated access to the WordPress site.

The attack flow typically involves:

1. An attacker obtaining or creating a low-privilege WordPress account
2. Identifying endpoints or AJAX handlers in the Final Tiles Grid plugin that lack proper authorization
3. Submitting crafted requests to perform unauthorized actions
4. Potentially disrupting service availability or modifying plugin settings

For detailed technical analysis, refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-25375

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual activity from low-privilege user accounts accessing plugin administrative functions
• Unexpected changes to gallery configurations or plugin settings by non-administrative users
• Anomalous AJAX requests to Final Tiles Grid plugin endpoints from subscriber or contributor accounts
• WordPress error logs showing unauthorized access attempts to plugin functions

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress audit logs for plugin settings modifications by non-admin users
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect unauthorized access patterns to the Final Tiles Grid plugin endpoints
• Review access logs for unusual POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php related to the final-tiles-grid-gallery-lite plugin
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions to identify exploitation attempts in real-time

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive WordPress activity logging with plugins like WP Activity Log
• Configure alerts for any plugin setting changes initiated by non-administrator accounts
• Regularly review user account permissions and remove unnecessary access
• Monitor for newly created user accounts that could be used to establish initial access

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-25375

Immediate Actions Required

• Identify all WordPress installations using the Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid plugin
• Check the installed version and confirm if it is version 3.6.10 or earlier
• Review user accounts and remove or demote any unnecessary privileged access
• Consider temporarily disabling the plugin if a patched version is not available
• Apply any available security updates from the plugin vendor

Patch Information

Organizations should monitor the WP Chill plugin repository and WordPress.org plugin directory for an updated version that addresses this vulnerability. The vulnerability affects versions through 3.6.10, so any version newer than this that explicitly addresses the broken access control issue should be applied.

For the latest patching information, consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Workarounds

• Restrict access to the WordPress admin dashboard to trusted IP addresses only
• Review and minimize the number of users with any level of WordPress access
• Implement additional access control through server-level configuration (e.g., .htaccess rules)
• Deploy a WordPress security plugin with built-in access control monitoring
• Consider using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to add an additional layer of protection

# Example: Restrict WordPress admin access by IP using .htaccess
# Add to .htaccess in WordPress root directory

<Files wp-login.php>
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
    Allow from YOUR.TRUSTED.IP.ADDRESS
</Files>

<FilesMatch "admin-ajax.php">
    # Note: Be cautious with admin-ajax.php as it may break frontend functionality
    # Consider implementing capability checks at the application level instead
</FilesMatch>