CVE-2025-24679
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a missing authorization vulnerability in the WordPress Internal Links Manager plugin (also called SEO Automated Link Building) that allows attackers to bypass access controls. It affects all versions up to 2.5.2, potentially enabling unauthorized users to access administrative functions. WordPress site administrators using this plugin are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress Internal Links Manager (SEO Automated Link Building)
⚠️ 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 modify plugin settings, manipulate internal links across the website, or potentially escalate privileges to compromise the entire WordPress installation.
Likely Case
Unauthorized users could change internal linking configurations, affecting SEO performance and potentially inserting malicious links into content.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and authentication requirements, the vulnerability would be prevented from being exploited.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability requires some level of access but lacks proper authorization checks. Attack complexity is low once initial access is obtained.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.5.3 or later
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Internal Links Manager' or 'SEO Automated Link Building'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available, or download version 2.5.3+ from WordPress repository. 5. Activate the updated plugin.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily deactivate the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate seo-automated-link-building
Restrict Access
allImplement IP-based restrictions to WordPress admin area
# Add to .htaccess for Apache:
Order deny,allow
Deny from all
Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
# Add to nginx config:
location /wp-admin {
allow 192.168.1.0/24;
deny all;
}
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove the plugin entirely from the WordPress installation
- Implement web application firewall rules to block unauthorized access to plugin endpoints
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for 'Internal Links Manager' or 'SEO Automated Link Building' version 2.5.2 or earlierCheck Version:
wp plugin get seo-automated-link-building --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version shows 2.5.3 or higher in WordPress admin panel📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with 'action' parameters related to internal links management
- Multiple failed authentication attempts followed by successful plugin configuration changes
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic patterns to WordPress admin endpoints from unexpected IP addresses
- HTTP requests containing 'internal-links-manager' or similar plugin-specific parameters
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND (uri_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND (http_method="POST" AND (form_data CONTAINS "action=ilj" OR form_data CONTAINS "action=internal_links")))