CVE-2025-12937
📋 TL;DR
The ACF Flexible Layouts Manager WordPress plugin has an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to modify custom field values on posts and pages. This affects all WordPress sites using this plugin up to version 1.1.6. Attackers can tamper with content without needing any credentials.
💻 Affected Systems
- ACF Flexible Layouts Manager 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
Complete website defacement, injection of malicious content, SEO spam injection, or data corruption across all posts/pages.
Likely Case
Content tampering, SEO spam injection, or malicious code insertion into posts/pages.
If Mitigated
No impact if plugin is patched or disabled, or if network controls block unauthorized access.
🎯 Exploit Status
Simple HTTP POST request to vulnerable endpoint with minimal technical skill required.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.1.7 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3200000/acf-flexible-layouts-manager/trunk/includes/ajax/ajax-paste.php
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'ACF Flexible Layouts Manager'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. If no update appears, manually download version 1.1.7+ from WordPress.org and replace plugin files.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily deactivate the vulnerable plugin until patched.
wp plugin deactivate acf-flexible-layouts-manager
Block Vulnerable Endpoint
linuxUse web application firewall or .htaccess to block access to the vulnerable AJAX endpoint.
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^wp-admin/admin-ajax\.php\?action=acf_flm_update_template_with_pasted_layout - [F,L]
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable the ACF Flexible Layouts Manager plugin immediately.
- Implement web application firewall rules to block unauthorized POST requests to admin-ajax.php with the vulnerable action parameter.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for ACF Flexible Layouts Manager version 1.1.6 or lower.Check Version:
wp plugin get acf-flexible-layouts-manager --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 1.1.7 or higher in WordPress admin plugins page.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=acf_flm_update_template_with_pasted_layout from unauthenticated IPs
- Unusual modifications to postmeta database table
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to admin-ajax.php endpoint with the vulnerable action parameter from external IPs
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND uri="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND method="POST" AND query="action=acf_flm_update_template_with_pasted_layout" AND user="-"