{"id":58179,"date":"2025-07-07T22:55:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T22:55:29","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-11-01T13:26:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T19:26:01","slug":"cve-2025-3848-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-wp-smartpay-plugin-for-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-3848-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-wp-smartpay-plugin-for-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2025-3848: Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in WP SmartPay Plugin for WordPress<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The cybersecurity community has identified a critical vulnerability associated with the WP SmartPay plugin used with WordPress. Designated as CVE-2025-3848, this vulnerability affects versions 1.1.0 to 2.7.13 of the plugin and could potentially impact millions of users worldwide. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-5590-time-based-sql-injection-vulnerability-in-owl-carousel-plugin-for-wordpress\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"64888\">vulnerability lies in the plugin&#8217;s<\/a> failure to validate user identities properly before updating their email addresses. This flaw allows for a significant security breach, enabling authenticated attackers to potentially take over administrative accounts, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-6435-firefox-vulnerability-leading-to-potential-system-compromise-and-data-leakage\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"64821\">leading to system compromise or data<\/a> leakage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2025-3848<br \/>\nSeverity: High (8.8 CVSS Score)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Remote<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: Low (Subscriber-level access)<br \/>\nUser Interaction: Required<br \/>\nImpact: Account Takeover, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-52717-sql-injection-vulnerability-in-lifterlms-leads-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"65414\">Potential System<\/a> Compromise, and Data Leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-3978857955\" 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: 700px;\">\r\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top: 0; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; display: flex; align-items: center;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; margin-right: 8px;\">\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: 40px; height: 40px;\" \/>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    A new way to communicate\r\n  <\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 12px;\">\r\n    Ameeba Chat is built on encrypted identity, not personal profiles.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 16px;\">\r\n    Message, call, share files, and coordinate with identities kept separate.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ul style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin-bottom: 20px;\">\r\n    <li>\u2022 Encrypted identity<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Ameeba Chat authenticates access<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Aliases and categories<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, and files<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Secure notes for sensitive information<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\r\n    Private communication, rethought.\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: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Download Ameeba Chat<\/a>\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ffffff; color: #ffffff; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Learn More<\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n<p>WP SmartPay <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-6755-wordpress-plugin-vulnerability-leads-to-arbitrary-file-deletion\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"65622\">Plugin for WordPress<\/a> | 1.1.0 to 2.7.13<\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The vulnerability, CVE-2025-3848, exists due to the WP SmartPay <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-4334-critical-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-simple-user-registration-plugin-for-wordpress\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"64921\">plugin&#8217;s inadequate validation of user<\/a> identities before updating their email addresses. An authenticated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-25268-unauthenticated-adjacent-attacker-accessing-api-endpoint\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"77737\">attacker with Subscriber-level access<\/a> can exploit this flaw, manipulating the update() function to change the email address of any user, including administrators. This action allows the attacker to initiate a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-52560-critical-password-reset-vulnerability-in-kanboard-prior-to-1-2-46\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"65429\">password reset<\/a> for the targeted account, receive the reset link via the newly updated email, and thus gain unauthorized access to the account.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-731903785\" 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>Here is a conceptual example of how this vulnerability might be exploited. We&#8217;ll use a HTTP request to illustrate this:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">POST \/wp-smartpay\/update-user HTTP\/1.1\nHost: target.example.com\nContent-Type: application\/json\nAuthentication: Bearer [attacker&#039;s token]\n{\n&quot;user_id&quot;: &quot;admin&quot;,\n&quot;email&quot;: &quot;attacker@example.com&quot;\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>In this example, the attacker sends a POST <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-6459-ads-pro-plugin-cross-site-request-forgery-csrf-vulnerability\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"92080\">request to the `update-user` endpoint of the WP SmartPay plugin<\/a>, modifying the `user_id` value to the target user (e.g., \u201cadmin\u201d) and the `email` value to the attacker&#8217;s email address. This action triggers a password reset, granting the attacker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-5835-droip-plugin-for-wordpress-unauthorized-access-and-modification-vulnerability\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"70897\">unauthorized access<\/a> to the account.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitigation Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The vendor has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-35115-critical-system-package-download-vulnerability-in-agiloft-release-28\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"85329\">released a patch to address this vulnerability<\/a>. Users of the WP SmartPay <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-7696-critical-php-object-injection-vulnerability-in-wordpress-plugin-integration\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"70895\">plugin for WordPress<\/a> are advised to update to the latest version immediately. If unable to apply the patch promptly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-50738-memos-application-vulnerability-allows-for-unauthorized-user-information-disclosure\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"70896\">users should implement a Web Application<\/a> Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary mitigation measure. Regular monitoring of account activities and unusual login attempts is also advised to detect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-7457-macos-authorization-model-exploit-leading-to-potential-mitm-attacks\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"80063\">potential exploits<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview The cybersecurity community has identified a critical vulnerability associated with the WP SmartPay plugin used with WordPress. Designated as CVE-2025-3848, this vulnerability affects versions 1.1.0 to 2.7.13 of the plugin and could potentially impact millions of users worldwide. The vulnerability lies in the plugin&#8217;s failure to validate user identities properly before updating their email [&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-58179","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\/58179","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=58179"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85287,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58179\/revisions\/85287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58179"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=58179"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=58179"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=58179"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=58179"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=58179"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=58179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}