CVE-2025-5018
📋 TL;DR
The Hive Support WordPress plugin has missing capability checks that allow authenticated users with Subscriber-level access or higher to read and overwrite OpenAI API keys, inspection data, and modify AI-chat prompts. This affects all versions up to and including 1.2.4. Attackers can potentially steal API credentials or manipulate chatbot behavior.
💻 Affected Systems
- Hive Support 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
Attackers steal OpenAI API keys leading to unauthorized API usage costs, modify AI prompts to spread malware/phishing, or compromise chatbot functionality for business disruption.
Likely Case
Malicious subscribers exfiltrate API keys for credential reuse or modify prompts to inject inappropriate content into customer-facing chatbots.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls, only administrators can modify settings, limiting impact to unauthorized configuration changes.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is straightforward via crafted AJAX requests to vulnerable functions.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.2.5 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://wordpress.org/plugins/hive-support/#developers
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find Hive Support plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. Alternatively, download latest version from WordPress repository and replace plugin files.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Temporary Capability Restriction
allRemove Subscriber role access to plugin AJAX endpoints using custom code or security plugin.
Add to theme's functions.php or custom plugin: add_filter('user_has_cap', 'restrict_hive_access', 10, 4); function restrict_hive_access($allcaps, $caps, $args, $user) { if (in_array('subscriber', $user->roles) && isset($_REQUEST['action']) && in_array($_REQUEST['action'], ['hs_update_ai_chat_settings', 'hive_lite_support_get_all_binbox'])) { $allcaps = array(); } return $allcaps; }
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable Hive Support plugin immediately if not essential.
- Restrict user registration and review existing Subscriber accounts for suspicious activity.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check plugin version in WordPress admin → Plugins → Hive Support. If version ≤1.2.4, vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get hive-support --field=version (if WP-CLI installed)Verify Fix Applied:
Confirm plugin version is 1.2.5 or higher. Test with Subscriber account that AJAX requests to affected functions return permission errors.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- WordPress audit logs showing Subscriber users accessing /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with actions: hs_update_ai_chat_settings or hive_lite_support_get_all_binbox
- Unexpected modifications to AI chat settings or prompts
Network Indicators:
- POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with vulnerable action parameters from non-admin users
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (url_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND (post_data="action=hs_update_ai_chat_settings" OR post_data="action=hive_lite_support_get_all_binbox")) AND user_role="subscriber"