Privilege Escalation in User Registration & Membership Plugin by WordPress

CVE-2025-2563

What is CVE-2025-2563?

CVE-2025-2563 is a serious security vulnerability identified in the User Registration & Membership plugin for WordPress, specifically affecting versions prior to 4.1.2. This plugin is widely used to facilitate user registrations and manage membership functionalities on WordPress sites, supporting over 60,000 active installations. The vulnerability arises from a flaw in the 'prepare_members_data()' function, which fails to impose restrictions on user account role assignments when the Membership Addon is enabled. As a consequence, unauthenticated users can manipulate this functionality to assign themselves administrative rights without any prior authentication, leading to significant security risks for organizations running the affected plugin.

The implications of this vulnerability are profound, as it enables unauthorized access to the administrative interface of WordPress sites. With admin privileges, malicious users can fully control the website, potentially leading to data breaches, service disruptions, and the execution of further attacks. This makes timely updates and mitigations critical for any organization utilizing this plugin to safeguard against potential exploitation.

Potential impact of CVE-2025-2563

1. Unauthorized Administrative Access: The vulnerability allows unauthenticated users to set their account role to administrator, granting them full control over the site, which can lead to malicious activities such as data manipulation, sensitive information theft, and unauthorized changes to website functionality.

2. Data Breaches: Exploitation of this vulnerability could result in significant security incidents, including the exposure of sensitive data, which may include user information, payment details, and confidential organizational data. This can lead to reputational damage and legal repercussions for the affected organizations.

3. Widespread Exploitation Risk: Given that the plugin is installed on a substantial number of sites, the potential for widespread exploitation is high. Attackers could automate attacks against multiple targets, which elevates the urgency for prompt patching and mitigation measures to prevent mass compromise.

News Articles

wiz.io

CVE-2025-2563

CVE-2025-2563 Impact, Exploitability, and Mitigation Steps | Wiz

Understand the critical aspects of CVE-2025-2563 with a detailed vulnerability assessment, exploitation potential, affected technologies, and remediation guidance.

1 month ago

VulDB

CVE-2025-2563

CVE-2025-2563 User Registration & Membership Plugin prepare_members_data improper authentication

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in User Registration & Membership Plugin up to 4.1.1 on WordPress. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-2563.

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