Overview
CVE-2025-12751 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting the WSChat – WordPress Live Chat plugin for WordPress. This vulnerability allows authenticated attackers, including those with Subscriber-level access or higher, to reset the plugin’s settings without the necessary permissions. The vulnerability exists in versions up to and including 3.1.6 of the plugin.
Technical Details
The vulnerability stems from a missing capability check on the reset_settings AJAX endpoint within the WSChat plugin. Specifically, the code lacks proper validation to ensure that the user initiating the reset has the appropriate authorization to do so. As a result, any authenticated user, even with minimal privileges (like a Subscriber), can trigger the reset_settings action and revert the plugin’s configuration to its default state.
CVSS Analysis
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score for CVE-2025-12751 is 4.3 (Medium).
- Attack Vector (AV): Network (N)
- Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L)
- Privileges Required (PR): Low (L)
- User Interaction (UI): None (N)
- Scope (S): Unchanged (U)
- Confidentiality Impact (C): None (N)
- Integrity Impact (I): Low (L)
- Availability Impact (A): None (N)
This score reflects the ease of exploitation (low attack complexity, no user interaction required) and the potential impact on integrity (settings can be reset, potentially disrupting functionality).
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to the following:
- Disruption of Live Chat Functionality: Resetting the plugin settings could disable or misconfigure the live chat functionality, hindering communication with website visitors.
- Loss of Configuration: Custom settings and configurations made by administrators could be lost, requiring them to reconfigure the plugin.
- Denial of Service (Minor): Repeatedly resetting the settings could potentially cause a minor denial of service by forcing administrators to constantly reconfigure the plugin.
Mitigation or Patch Steps
The recommended mitigation is to update the WSChat – WordPress Live Chat plugin to the latest version. The vulnerability has been patched in versions released after 3.1.6. To update, follow these steps:
- Log in to your WordPress administration panel.
- Navigate to the “Plugins” section.
- Locate the “WSChat – WordPress Live Chat” plugin.
- Click the “Update Now” button if an update is available. If not, ensure that you are running the latest version.
If you cannot update immediately, consider temporarily disabling the plugin until you can apply the update. This will prevent potential exploitation of the vulnerability.
