CVE-2025-12524
📋 TL;DR
The Post Type Switcher WordPress plugin up to version 4.0.0 has an Insecure Direct Object Reference vulnerability that allows authenticated attackers with Author-level access or higher to change the post type of any post or page, including those they don't own. This can disrupt site functionality, break navigation, and impact SEO. Only WordPress sites using this vulnerable plugin are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Post Type Switcher WordPress Plugin
⚠️ 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
Attackers could change critical administrative posts/pages to incompatible post types, causing site-wide functionality breakdown, navigation errors, and significant SEO damage from broken links and content structure changes.
Likely Case
Author-level users could modify posts they shouldn't have access to, potentially breaking specific pages, causing navigation issues in affected sections, and creating SEO problems for targeted content.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and monitoring, impact would be limited to minor content disruption that could be quickly detected and reverted.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is technically simple once authenticated. The vulnerability is well-documented in public sources.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 4.0.1
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Post Type Switcher'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available, or manually update to version 4.0.1 or later. 5. Verify the plugin is active and functioning.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Temporary Plugin Deactivation
allDisable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate post-type-switcher
Role-Based Access Restriction
allTemporarily restrict Author and higher roles from editing posts they don't own
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Deactivate the Post Type Switcher plugin immediately
- Implement strict user role auditing and limit Author-level permissions
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for Post Type Switcher version 4.0.0 or earlierCheck Version:
wp plugin get post-type-switcher --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Post Type Switcher plugin version is 4.0.1 or later in WordPress admin📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual post_type changes in WordPress logs
- Author-level users modifying posts they don't own
- Multiple post_type modification attempts
Network Indicators:
- POST requests to wp-admin/post.php with post_type parameter modifications
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (event="post_updated" OR event="edit_post") AND user_role="author" AND post_author!=current_user🔗 References
- https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/639.html
- https://owasp.org/API-Security/editions/2023/en/0xa1-broken-object-level-authorization/
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/post-type-switcher/tags/4.0.0/post-type-switcher.php#L469
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/post-type-switcher/tags/4.0.0/post-type-switcher.php#L486
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&new=3391983%40post-type-switcher%2Ftrunk&old=3331072%40post-type-switcher%2Ftrunk&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/d875514c-c7d3-4236-842b-6e772048448d?source=cve
