Overview
CVE-2025-10646 identifies a medium-severity vulnerability in the Search Exclude plugin for WordPress. This flaw allows authenticated attackers with Contributor-level access or higher to modify plugin settings without proper authorization. Specifically, they can add arbitrary posts to the search exclusion list, potentially impacting website search functionality and content visibility.
Technical Details
The vulnerability resides in the Base::get_rest_permission() method within the Search Exclude plugin. Versions up to and including 2.5.7 lack sufficient capability checks when this method is called. This oversight enables users with Contributor permissions (and higher roles like Author, Editor, and Administrator) to bypass intended security restrictions and alter the plugin’s configuration through the WordPress REST API. The core issue is the insufficient validation of user capabilities before allowing modification of the search exclusion settings.
CVSS Analysis
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) assigns a score of 4.3 to CVE-2025-10646. This score indicates a MEDIUM severity vulnerability. The CVSS vector string is likely something similar to: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N, indicating:
- AV:N (Attack Vector: Network): The vulnerability can be exploited over the network.
- AC:L (Attack Complexity: Low): Exploitation is relatively easy.
- PR:L (Privileges Required: Low): The attacker requires low-level privileges (Contributor).
- UI:N (User Interaction: None): No user interaction is required.
- S:U (Scope: Unchanged): The vulnerability’s scope is unchanged.
- C:N (Confidentiality: None): No confidentiality impact.
- I:L (Integrity: Low): Limited integrity impact (modification of search exclusion settings).
- A:N (Availability: None): No availability impact.
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of CVE-2025-10646 can lead to several negative consequences:
- SEO Manipulation: Attackers can exclude specific posts from search results, potentially damaging a website’s search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
- Content Censorship: Contributors could maliciously hide content from website visitors by excluding it from search.
- Disruption of Search Functionality: Mass exclusion of posts can significantly degrade the usability of the website’s search function.
Mitigation or Patch Steps
The recommended mitigation is to update the Search Exclude plugin to the latest available version. The vulnerability has been addressed in versions released after 2.5.7. Ensure that your WordPress installation is also up-to-date to benefit from the latest security enhancements.
- Update the Plugin: Navigate to the Plugins section in your WordPress dashboard and update the Search Exclude plugin.
- Verify Permissions: Review the capabilities assigned to different user roles to ensure that Contributors and other lower-level users do not have excessive permissions.
