Overview
The world of cybersecurity is more active than ever, with new threats emerging daily. One such threat that has recently come to light is a vulnerability found in the My WP Translate plugin for WordPress, assigned the code CVE-2025-8425. This plugin, widely used to facilitate translation services on WordPress sites, contains a flaw that can lead to unauthorized data modification and privilege escalation. If exploited, this vulnerability can potentially compromise an entire WordPress system, making it a major concern for any individual or organization relying on this platform.
The vulnerability is especially concerning as it allows authenticated attackers with minimal Subscriber-level access to update arbitrary options on a WordPress site. This can have severe implications, including altering the default role for registration to administrator, enabling cybercriminals to gain administrative user access to a vulnerable site.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-8425
Severity: High (8.8 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low (Subscriber-level access and above)
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Unauthorized modification of data leading to potential system compromise or data leakage.
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
My WP Translate plugin for WordPress | All versions up to and including 1.1
How the Exploit Works
The exploit hinges on a missing capability check on the ajax_import_strings() function in the affected versions of the My WP Translate plugin. An attacker, even with minimal Subscriber-level access, can leverage this vulnerability to update arbitrary options on the WordPress site. This can be utilized to change the default role for registration to an administrator. By enabling user registration, the attacker can then register themselves as an administrator, gaining full administrative access to the site.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This is a hypothetical HTTP request that an attacker might use:
POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
action=my_wp_translate_import&options={ "new_user_role": "administrator", "users_can_register": "1" }In this example, the attacker sends a POST request to the ‘admin-ajax.php’ endpoint. They utilize the ‘my_wp_translate_import’ action and change the ‘new_user_role’ option to ‘administrator’ and the ‘users_can_register’ option to ‘1’, which enables user registration. This allows them to register as an administrator on the target site.
Mitigation
To mitigate this vulnerability, it is recommended to apply the vendor-supplied patch as soon as it is available. The patch will correct the missing capability check, preventing unauthorized modification of data. In lieu of the patch, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can be used as temporary mitigation. These systems will monitor and potentially block malicious traffic, reducing the risk of exploitation.
