Blog

"Prevention is cheaper than a breach"

Home / Threats / CVE-2025-5190

CVE-2025-5190 - Browse As Plugin

CVE-2025-5190

The Browse As plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in versions up to, and including, 0.2. This is due to incorrect authentication checking in the 'IS_BA_Browse_As::notice' function with the 'is_ba_original_user_COOKIEHASH' cookie value. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to log in as any existing user on the site, such as an administrator, if they have access to the user id.

CVE-2025-5190

HIGH CVSS 8.8 Published 2025-05-30 Updated 2025-05-30
AI Risk Critical (92/100) Active Exploit: No strong signal Published Exploit: No public exploit references Priority: P1 Immediate
Severity Band HIGH
CVSS Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected Components 1
Reference Links 3
AI Risk Engine Critical (92/100)
Exploitability Very High
Active Exploitation No strong signal
Published Exploit Status No public exploit references

Threat Timeline

  1. 2025-05-30 CVE published and first recorded in the threat feed.
  2. 2025-05-30 Record updated with latest vulnerability metadata.
  3. 2026-04-09 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 16 days ago

AI enriched 16 days ago (2026-04-09 08:22 UTC)

Technical Summary

The Browse As plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in versions up to, and including, 0.2. This is due to incorrect authentication checking in the 'IS_BA_Browse_As::notice' function with the 'is_ba_original_user_COOKIEHASH' cookie value. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to log in as any existing user on the site, such as an administrator, if they have access to the user id.

Potential Impact

Severity is HIGH (CVSS 8.8). Depending on deployment context, affected components may be exposed to unauthorized actions or data integrity risk.

Exploitability Assessment

Exploitability is assessed as Very High based on remote code execution potential, low-bar exploit prerequisites.

Primary risk drivers: remote code execution potential, 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

Prioritize remediation where affected components process customer data, admin sessions, or Internet-exposed workflows.

Affected Products

Browse As PLUGIN · browse-as Affected range not specified Fixed version not specified
Scroll to top