Blog

"Prevention is cheaper than a breach"

Home / Threats / CVE-2021-25032

CVE-2021-25032 - Before 2 Plugin

CVE-2021-25032

The PublishPress Capabilities WordPress plugin before 2.3.1, PublishPress Capabilities Pro WordPress plugin before 2.3.1 does not have authorisation and CSRF checks when updating the plugin's settings via the init hook, and does not ensure that the options to be updated belong to the plugin. As a result, unauthenticated attackers could update arbitrary blog options, such as the default role and make any new registered user with an administrator role.

CVE-2021-25032

CRITICAL CVSS 9.8 Published 2022-01-10 Updated 2024-11-21
AI Risk Critical (96/100) Active Exploit: No strong signal Published Exploit: No public exploit references Priority: P1 Immediate
Severity Band CRITICAL
CVSS Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected Components 5
Reference Links 2
AI Risk Engine Critical (96/100)
Exploitability High
Active Exploitation No strong signal
Published Exploit Status No public exploit references

Threat Timeline

  1. 2022-01-10 CVE published and first recorded in the threat feed.
  2. 2024-11-21 Record updated with latest vulnerability metadata.
  3. 2026-04-11 AI technical context refreshed for mitigation and impact guidance.
  4. Now Monitoring for follow-up changes, linked references, and new related CVEs.

AI Context

Machine-generated threat intelligence

AI Updated 6 days ago

AI enriched 6 days ago (2026-04-11 00:34 UTC)

Technical Summary

The PublishPress Capabilities WordPress plugin before 2.3.1, PublishPress Capabilities Pro WordPress plugin before 2.3.1 does not have authorisation and CSRF checks when updating the plugin's settings via the init hook, and does not ensure that the options to be updated belong to the plugin. As a result, unauthenticated attackers could update arbitrary blog options, such as the default role and make any new registered user with an administrator role.

Potential Impact

Severity is CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8). Depending on deployment context, affected components may be exposed to unauthorized actions or data integrity risk.

Exploitability Assessment

Exploitability is assessed as High based on low-bar exploit prerequisites.

Primary risk drivers: low-bar exploit prerequisites

Mitigation Recommendations

Validate affected product versions, prioritize patching, and monitor references for vendor remediation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, apply compensating controls and limit exposure of vulnerable surfaces.

Detection & Monitoring

Track authentication anomalies, unexpected file writes, and suspicious plugin API activity around affected components.

Business Impact Lens

AI risk score 96/100 (Critical, High) with priority P1 Immediate. Prioritize remediation where affected components process customer data, admin sessions, or Internet-exposed workflows.

Affected Products

Before 2 PLUGIN · before-2 Affected: < 2.3.1 Fixed in: 2.3.1
Capabilities PLUGIN · capabilities Affected: < 2.3.1 Fixed in: 2.3.1
Changeset PLUGIN · changeset Affected: < 2.3.1 Fixed in: 2.3.1
Publishpress Capabilities PLUGIN · publishpress-capabilities Affected: < 2.3.1 Fixed in: 2.3.1
Publishpress Capabilities Pro PLUGIN · publishpress-capabilities-pro Affected: < 2.3.1 Fixed in: 2.3.1
Scroll to top