Critical Alert: SiteSEO WordPress Plugin Vulnerable to Unauthorized Settings Reset (CVE-2025-12814)

Overview

CVE-2025-12814 is a medium severity vulnerability affecting the SiteSEO – SEO Simplified plugin for WordPress. Specifically, it allows authenticated attackers with limited permissions (access to at least one SiteSEO setting capability) to reset the plugin’s settings to their default configuration. This is due to an insufficient capability check in the siteseo_reset_settings function.

This vulnerability impacts all versions of the SiteSEO plugin up to, and including, version 1.3.2.

Technical Details

The vulnerability resides in the ajax.php file within the SiteSEO plugin. The siteseo_reset_settings function, intended to reset the plugin’s configuration, lacks proper authorization checks. Specifically, it doesn’t verify if the user has the necessary capability to perform a complete settings reset. Instead, it only checks if the user has *any* SiteSEO setting capability. This allows an attacker with, for example, the ability to modify only one specific setting, to trigger a full reset, effectively wiping out other configurations they shouldn’t have access to change.

The vulnerable code snippet can be found in ajax.php line 90.

CVSS Analysis

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score for CVE-2025-12814 is 5.3 (Medium).

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
• Explanation:
  • AV:N (Network): The vulnerability is exploitable over a network.
  • AC:L (Low): The attack complexity is low, meaning it’s relatively easy to exploit.
  • PR:L (Low): The attacker needs low privileges (an authenticated user).
  • UI:N (None): No user interaction is required.
  • S:U (Unchanged): The security scope is unchanged.
  • C:N (None): There’s no confidentiality impact.
  • I:L (Low): There’s a low integrity impact; settings can be modified.
  • A:N (None): There’s no availability impact.

Possible Impact

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to the following:

• Loss of SEO Configuration: An attacker could reset all SiteSEO plugin settings, potentially harming a website’s search engine optimization efforts.
• Denial of Service (Limited): While not a full denial of service, resetting settings can disrupt the intended functionality and impact user experience.
• Unintended Configuration Changes: Legitimate administrators would need to reconfigure the plugin after an unauthorized reset.

Mitigation and Patch Steps

The recommended mitigation is to update the SiteSEO – SEO Simplified plugin to the latest version. A patch has been released that includes the correct capability check for the siteseo_reset_settings function.

1. Update the Plugin: Navigate to the Plugins section in your WordPress dashboard and update the SiteSEO – SEO Simplified plugin to the latest available version.
2. Verify Settings: After updating, it’s recommended to review your plugin settings to ensure they are configured as intended.

References

• Wordfence Threat Intelligence Report
• Vulnerable Code Snippet (ajax.php)
• Changeset Addressing the Vulnerability