{"id":34127,"date":"2025-05-02T09:42:19","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T09:42:19","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-06-04T11:01:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T17:01:41","slug":"cve-2025-1279-unauthorized-data-modification-and-privilege-escalation-in-bm-content-builder-for-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-1279-unauthorized-data-modification-and-privilege-escalation-in-bm-content-builder-for-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"CVE-2025-1279: Unauthorized Data Modification and Privilege Escalation in BM Content Builder for WordPress<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

The BM Content Builder plugin for WordPress is a popular tool used to enhance website functionality. However, a significant vulnerability has been identified, dubbed CVE-2025-1279, which could potentially allow unauthorized modification of data, leading to privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects all versions of the BM Content Builder plugin<\/a> up to, and including, 3.16.2.1. The vulnerability matters due to its potential to compromise systems<\/a> and leak data, impacting businesses and users relying on WordPress for their online presence.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE ID: CVE-2025-1279
\nSeverity: High (8.8 CVSSv3)
\nAttack Vector: Network
\nPrivileges Required: Low (Subscriber-level access and above)
\nUser Interaction: Required
\nImpact: Unauthorized modification of data, privilege escalation<\/a>, potential system compromise or data leakage<\/p>\n

Affected Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n

BM Content Builder for WordPress<\/a> | Up to 3.16.2.1<\/p>\n

How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

The vulnerability arises from a missing capability check on the ux_cb_tools_import_item_ajax AJAX action in the BM Content Builder<\/a> plugin. This oversight allows authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to update arbitrary options on the WordPress<\/a> site. Particularly, an attacker can modify the default role for registration<\/a> to administrator and enable user registration. This allows the attacker to register as an administrator, giving them full administrative access to the vulnerable<\/a> site.<\/p>\n

Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is a conceptual example of a malicious HTTP request exploiting this vulnerability<\/a>:<\/p>\n

POST \/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php HTTP\/1.1\nHost: vulnerable-wordpress-site.com\nContent-Type: application\/x-www-form-urlencoded\nCookie: wordpress_logged_in_[hash]=[user's WordPress login cookie]\naction=ux_cb_tools_import_item_ajax&item={ \"setting\": { \"default_role\": \"administrator\", \"users_can_register\": 1 } }<\/code><\/pre>\n
In this example, the attacker sends a POST request to the admin-ajax.php file<\/a> (the AJAX API endpoint in WordPress). The action parameter is set to ‘ux_cb_tools_import_item_ajax’, and the ‘item’ parameter is set to change the ‘default_role’ to ‘administrator’ and ‘users_can_register’ to 1 (enabled). The attacker requires the user’s WordPress login<\/a> cookie to authenticate the request.<\/p>\n
Mitigation Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n
The most effective solution to mitigate this vulnerability<\/a> is to apply the vendor-provided patch. If immediate patching is not possible, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as temporary mitigation. Ensure to keep your systems updated and regularly scrutinize your user<\/a> privileges and system access policies to prevent unauthorized access or privilege escalation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overview The BM Content Builder plugin for WordPress is a popular tool used to enhance website functionality. However, a significant vulnerability has been identified, dubbed CVE-2025-1279, which could potentially allow unauthorized modification of data, leading to privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects all versions of the BM Content Builder plugin up to, and including, 3.16.2.1. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[76],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-34127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","attack_vector-privilege-escalation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t