Overview
CVE-2025-12481 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting the WP Duplicate Page plugin for WordPress, specifically versions up to and including 1.7. This vulnerability stems from a missing authorization check in the ‘saveSettings’ function. An attacker with Contributor-level access or higher can exploit this to modify plugin settings, potentially leading to privilege escalation and unauthorized access to sensitive information.
Technical Details
The vulnerability resides in the insufficient authorization checks within the saveSettings function of the WP Duplicate Page plugin. Specifically, the plugin does not adequately verify if a user has the necessary permissions before allowing them to modify the plugin’s settings related to role capabilities. This allows users with lower-level privileges, such as Contributor, to manipulate these settings. By modifying these role capabilities, an attacker can grant themselves the ability to duplicate and view password-protected pages which may contain sensitive information.
The vulnerable code can be found (in older versions) in the following files (as mentioned in the references):
includes/Classes/ButtonDuplicate.php(potentially relevant for button duplication logic)includes/Page/Settings.php(specifically, thesaveSettingsfunction)
The lack of proper capability checks allows unauthorized modification of settings, directly impacting the security posture of the WordPress installation.
CVSS Analysis
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score for CVE-2025-12481 is 4.3 (MEDIUM). This score reflects the vulnerability’s impact, considering factors such as the required access level (authenticated), the complexity of the exploit, and the potential for information disclosure.
Possible Impact
The exploitation of CVE-2025-12481 can have significant consequences:
- Privilege Escalation: Attackers can elevate their privileges by manipulating role capabilities.
- Sensitive Information Disclosure: Access to password-protected pages can expose confidential data.
- Website Defacement or Compromise: With elevated privileges, an attacker could potentially deface the website or compromise the entire WordPress installation.
Mitigation or Patch Steps
The primary mitigation is to update the WP Duplicate Page plugin to the latest version. The developers have addressed this vulnerability in a subsequent release. Specifically, the fix involves implementing proper authorization checks within the ‘saveSettings’ function. This prevents unauthorized users from modifying plugin settings that control role capabilities.
If updating is not immediately possible, consider temporarily deactivating the plugin as a workaround, though this will remove the plugin’s functionality.
