CVE-2025-69182
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows attackers to escalate privileges in the WordPress Institutions Directory plugin. Attackers could gain administrative access to affected WordPress sites. All sites running vulnerable versions (1.3.4 and earlier) are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress Institutions Directory 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 where attackers gain full administrative control, can install backdoors, modify content, steal data, or use the site for further attacks.
Likely Case
Attackers gain elevated privileges to modify plugin settings, create/delete content, or access restricted functionality.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper access controls, monitoring, and least privilege principles are already implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Privilege escalation vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins are commonly exploited. Requires some level of access to initiate.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version after 1.3.4
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel
2. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins
3. Find 'Institutions Directory'
4. Click 'Update Now' if available
5. If no update appears, manually download latest version from WordPress repository
6. Deactivate and delete old version
7. Upload and activate new version
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate institutions-directory
Restrict Access
allLimit plugin access to trusted users only
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls and monitor for unusual privilege changes
- Deploy web application firewall rules to detect privilege escalation attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Institutions Directory version numberCheck Version:
wp plugin get institutions-directory --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is greater than 1.3.4 and test privilege escalation attempts fail📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected user role changes in WordPress logs
- Plugin activation/deactivation by non-admin users
- Failed login attempts followed by successful privilege changes
Network Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to plugin admin endpoints
- Requests attempting to modify user capabilities
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (event="user_role_change" OR event="capability_added") AND plugin="institutions-directory"