CVE-2025-13540
📋 TL;DR
The Tiare Membership WordPress plugin has a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to register accounts with administrator privileges. This affects all WordPress sites using Tiare Membership plugin versions 1.2 and earlier. Attackers can gain full administrative control of vulnerable WordPress installations.
💻 Affected Systems
- Tiare Membership 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 site takeover - attackers gain administrator access, can install backdoors, deface the site, steal data, or use the site for further attacks.
Likely Case
Site compromise with administrative access leading to content manipulation, plugin/themes installation, or credential theft.
If Mitigated
No impact if plugin is disabled or patched, or if registration functionality is disabled.
🎯 Exploit Status
Simple HTTP POST request to registration endpoint with administrator role parameter.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version after 1.2 (check plugin repository for latest)
Vendor Advisory: https://themeforest.net/item/tiare-wedding-vendor-directory-theme/26589165
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update Tiare Membership plugin to latest version. 2. Verify plugin is updated to version after 1.2. 3. Test user registration functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable User Registration
allDisable user registration in WordPress settings to prevent exploitation.
WordPress Admin > Settings > General > Membership: Uncheck 'Anyone can register'
Disable Tiare Membership Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched.
WordPress Admin > Plugins > Tiare Membership > Deactivate
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block registration requests with administrator role parameter
- Monitor user registration logs for suspicious administrator account creation
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin > Plugins > Tiare Membership version. If version is 1.2 or earlier, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
WordPress Admin > Plugins > Tiare Membership shows version numberVerify Fix Applied:
After update, verify plugin version is greater than 1.2. Test registration functionality with administrator role parameter - should be rejected.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- User registration logs showing administrator role assignment
- New administrator account creation from unknown IPs
- POST requests to /wp-json/tiare-membership/v1/register with role=administrator
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to registration endpoints with administrator role parameter
- Unusual user registration traffic
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (uri_path="/wp-json/tiare-membership/v1/register" AND method="POST" AND (form_data CONTAINS "role=administrator" OR json CONTAINS "\"role\":\"administrator\""))