dbcve.org
Improper AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-285

CVE-2025-11521

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
The Astra Security Suite – Firewall & Malware Scan plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file uploads due to insufficient validation of remote URLs for zip downloads and an easily guessable key in all versions up to, and including, 0.2. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to upload arbitrary files on the affected site's server which may make remote code execution possible.

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 confidence

The Astra Security Suite WordPress plugin versions up to 0.2 fails to validate remote URLs when downloading zip files and uses an easily guessable key, allowing unauthenticated attackers to upload arbitrary files to the server. This critical flaw enables remote code execution on affected WordPress installations.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to a version beyond 0.2 immediately; if no patched version exists, disable the plugin and audit the server for any malicious files uploaded via this vulnerability.

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Astra Security Suite plugin is installed
    Log into WordPress admin panel and navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins, or inspect the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for an 'astra-security-suite' folder
    Affected if The plugin folder 'astra-security-suite' exists in the plugins directory
  2. Determine the installed plugin version
    In WordPress admin, view the plugin details to see the version number, or open the main plugin PHP file (usually main.php or astra-security-suite.php) and look for the 'Version' header in the plugin comment block
    Affected if The reported version is 0.2 or any version lower than 0.2
  3. Identify if the remote zip download feature is accessible
    Inspect the plugin's source code for functions handling remote URL downloads or zip file extraction. Look for AJAX endpoints or admin pages that accept remote URLs for file downloads
    Affected if The plugin contains functionality that accepts remote URLs to download zip files and this functionality is accessible without authentication or with low-privileged user access
  4. Check for unauthorized files in the uploads directory
    Scan the /wp-content/uploads/ directory (and subdirectories) for recently created .php files, .zip files, or other suspicious file types that were not intentionally uploaded through WordPress media library
    Affected if Unexpected PHP files, shell scripts, or archive files exist in upload directories, especially those with recent modification dates

A user is affected if the Astra Security Suite plugin version 0.2 or lower is installed and the plugin's remote URL zip download feature is present and accessible.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the plugin to a version beyond 0.2 immediately; if no patched version exists, disable the plugin and audit the server for any malicious files uploaded via this vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest version of Astra Security Suite – Firewall & Malware Scan plugin (version higher than 0.2)

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the 'Astra Security Suite – Firewall & Malware Scan' plugin
  4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
  5. Alternatively, download the latest version from wordpress.org and upload it via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  6. After updating, verify the plugin is running on a version newer than 0.2

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-11521 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data