CVE-2025-11174
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe Document Library Lite plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Improper Authorization in all versions up to, and including, 1.1.6. This is due to the plugin exposing an unauthenticated AJAX action dll_load_posts which returns a JSON table of document data without performing nonce or capability checks. The handler accepts an attacker-controlled args array where the status option explicitly allows draft, pending, future, and any. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to retrieve unpublished document titles and content via the AJAX endpoint.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe Document Library Lite WordPress plugin exposes an unauthenticated AJAX endpoint (dll_load_posts) that returns document data without any authorization checks. The endpoint accepts an attacker-controlled args array allowing queries for draft, pending, future, and any post status, enabling unauthenticated retrieval of unpublished document titles and content.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify plugin is installed and activeIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Document Library Lite' or check the filesystem under wp-content/plugins/document-library-lite for the main plugin file.Affected if The plugin is installed and active
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Identify installed versionIn WordPress admin_plugins list, find Document Library Lite and note the version number displayed. Alternatively, read the 'Version' field in the plugin's main PHP file header.Affected if The installed version is older than the fixed version (if known) or remains unpatched
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Test unauthenticated endpoint accessibilitySend a GET or POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=dll_load_posts. Include a minimal args array, e.g., {'posts_per_page':1}. No authentication cookies or nonce should be provided.Affected if The endpoint returns a valid JSON response without requiring authentication (HTTP 200 with post data)
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Verify status parameter allows non-published contentSend a request to dll_load_posts with args including 'post_status' set to 'draft', 'pending', or 'future', e.g., args={'post_status':'draft','posts_per_page':5}.Affected if The response returns posts with non-published statuses (draft/pending/future), exposing unpublished content
If the Document Library Lite plugin is active AND the dll_load_posts endpoint responds without authentication AND returns posts with non-published statuses, the environment is affected by CVE-2025-11174.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataAdd nonce verification and capability checks (e.g., 'edit_posts' or similar) to the dll_load_posts AJAX handler, and restrict the status query parameter to only allow 'publish' status.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-11174 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-11174 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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