CVE-2025-13794
📋 TL;DR
The Auto Featured Image WordPress plugin has an authorization bypass vulnerability that allows authenticated users with Contributor-level permissions or higher to delete or generate featured images on posts they don't own. This affects all versions up to and including 4.2.1. The vulnerability stems from missing capability checks in the bulk_action_generate_handler function.
💻 Affected Systems
- Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 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
Malicious contributors could systematically delete or replace featured images across the entire WordPress site, potentially causing content disruption, SEO damage, or inserting inappropriate images.
Likely Case
Contributors modifying featured images on posts they shouldn't have access to, potentially disrupting content presentation or inserting misleading images.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper user role management is in place and contributors are trusted, but still represents a privilege escalation risk.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access with at least Contributor permissions. The vulnerability is straightforward to exploit once authenticated.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 4.2.2 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3200000/auto-post-thumbnail/tags/4.2.2/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Auto Featured Image' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update is available. 5. Alternatively, download version 4.2.2+ from WordPress plugin repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate auto-post-thumbnail
Restrict Contributor Permissions
allTemporarily downgrade or remove Contributor roles from untrusted users
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict user role management and audit Contributor-level users
- Monitor WordPress logs for bulk image modification activities
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check plugin version in WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins. If version is 4.2.1 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get auto-post-thumbnail --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify plugin version shows 4.2.2 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- WordPress logs showing bulk featured image operations by Contributor users
- Unexpected featured image modifications in post revision history
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=apt_bulk_generate
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (uri_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND post_data LIKE "%apt_bulk_generate%")