dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2025-12157

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Simple User Capabilities plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the 'wp_ajax_nopriv_reset_capability' AJAX endpoint in all versions up to, and including, 1.0. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to reset any user's capabilities.

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 Simple User Capabilities WordPress plugin has a missing capability check on the wp_ajax_nopriv_reset_capability AJAX endpoint, allowing unauthenticated users to reset any user's capabilities. This is a broken access control vulnerability where the AJAX action is registered without proper authorization checks.

MitigationUpdate to a patched version of the plugin if available. Otherwise, disable the plugin until a fix is released. The fix requires adding proper capability checks and nonce verification to the AJAX handler.

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
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 checks

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

  1. Locate the Simple User Capabilities plugin files
    Access your WordPress installation via FTP or file manager, navigate to /wp-content/plugins/ and look for a folder named 'simple-user-capabilities' or similar. Alternatively, check the WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins for a plugin named 'Simple User Capabilities'.
    Affected if The plugin folder exists in /wp-content/plugins/ or the plugin appears in the WordPress admin plugin list.
  2. Identify the installed version
    If the plugin is found, open its main PHP file (usually named simple-user-capabilities.php or similar inside the plugin folder) and look for a version comment or 'Version:' header in the file comments at the top. You can also check the WordPress plugin repository for the installed version if available.
    Affected if A version number is found and it is not known to include the patched fix (the plugin should be updated to the latest version).
  3. Verify the vulnerable AJAX endpoint exists
    In the plugin folder, search for 'wp_ajax_nopriv_reset_capability' in all PHP files (use grep or a text editor search). This string indicates the endpoint is registered for unauthenticated users.
    Affected if The string 'wp_ajax_nopriv_reset_capability' is found in the plugin PHP files, meaning the endpoint is exposed without authentication.
  4. Test AJAX endpoint accessibility
    Send a POST request to your site at /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with the action parameter set to 'reset_capability' (for example: curl -X POST https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php -d 'action=reset_capability'). A response (rather than a 401/403 error) indicates the endpoint is reachable without credentials.
    Affected if The AJAX endpoint responds with a non-error HTTP status (200) and returns data without requiring authentication.

You are affected if the Simple User Capabilities plugin is installed and the reset_capability AJAX endpoint is accessible without authentication or capability verification.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update to a patched version of the plugin if available. Otherwise, disable the plugin until a fix is released. The fix requires adding proper capability checks and nonce verification to the AJAX handler.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2025-12157 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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