CVE-2025-12953
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows authenticated WordPress users with subscriber-level access or higher to add, update, or delete listing types in the Classified Listing plugin. Attackers can manipulate classified ad categories without proper authorization. All WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this plugin are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Classified Listing – AI-Powered Classified ads & Business Directory 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
Attackers could delete all listing types, disrupting the classified ads functionality entirely, or create malicious listing types to mislead users.
Likely Case
Attackers modify listing types to create inappropriate categories, disrupt site organization, or create misleading ad classifications.
If Mitigated
With proper user role management and monitoring, impact is limited to minor content manipulation by authorized users.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is technically simple via crafted AJAX requests to vulnerable endpoints.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 5.2.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3389342/classified-listing/trunk/app/Controllers/Ajax/AjaxListingType.php
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Classified Listing' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 5.2.1+ from WordPress.org and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Temporary Plugin Deactivation
allDisable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate classified-listing
User Role Restriction
linuxTemporarily restrict subscriber and contributor roles from accessing the site
wp user list --role=subscriber --field=ID | xargs wp user set-role {ID} none
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block requests to rtcl_ajax_* endpoints from non-admin users
- Monitor WordPress user activity logs for unauthorized listing type modifications
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Classified Listing → Version. If version is 5.2.0 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get classified-listing --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify plugin version shows 5.2.1 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action parameters: rtcl_ajax_add_listing_type, rtcl_ajax_update_listing_type, rtcl_ajax_delete_listing_type from non-admin users
Network Indicators:
- AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with listing type manipulation parameters
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND "admin-ajax.php" AND ("rtcl_ajax_add_listing_type" OR "rtcl_ajax_update_listing_type" OR "rtcl_ajax_delete_listing_type")