CVE-2025-11163
📋 TL;DR
The SmartCrawl SEO plugin for WordPress has an authorization bypass vulnerability that allows authenticated users with Subscriber-level access or higher to modify plugin settings. This affects all versions up to and including 3.14.3. Attackers could potentially alter SEO configurations, redirect settings, or other plugin options.
💻 Affected Systems
- SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer plugin for WordPress
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker could modify SEO settings to inject malicious redirects, alter meta tags to include malicious content, or disable security features, potentially leading to SEO poisoning, phishing attacks, or site defacement.
Likely Case
Attackers with subscriber accounts could modify SEO settings to degrade site performance, alter search engine visibility, or make minor configuration changes that require administrative intervention to fix.
If Mitigated
With proper user role management and monitoring, impact would be limited to minor configuration changes that can be quickly detected and reverted.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is technically simple once an attacker has valid credentials.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version 3.14.4 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3366486/smartcrawl-seo/trunk/includes/core/controllers/class-submodule-controller.php
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find SmartCrawl SEO plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available, or manually update to version 3.14.4+. 5. Verify update completes successfully.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Temporary plugin deactivation
WordPressDisable the SmartCrawl plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate smartcrawl-seo
Restrict user registration
WordPressTemporarily disable new user registration to prevent attacker account creation
Settings → General → Membership: Uncheck 'Anyone can register'
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Review and audit all user accounts with Subscriber or higher roles
- Monitor plugin settings changes and implement change control procedures
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins → SmartCrawl SEO version. If version is 3.14.3 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get smartcrawl-seo --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify SmartCrawl SEO plugin version shows 3.14.4 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual plugin setting changes from non-admin users
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful Subscriber-level login
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=wds_update_submodule from non-admin users
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("wds_update_submodule" OR "update_submodule") AND user_role!="administrator"🔗 References
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/smartcrawl-seo/tags/3.14.2/includes/core/controllers/class-submodule-controller.php#L123
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3366486/smartcrawl-seo/trunk/includes/core/controllers/class-submodule-controller.php
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/8a63a9b3-c056-45f3-952c-9aee997d1d27?source=cve
