dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2025-12849

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-15
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 Contest Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in all versions up to, and including, 28.0.2. This is due to the plugin registering the `cg_check_wp_admin_upload_v10` AJAX action for both authenticated and unauthenticated users without implementing capability checks or nonce verification. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary WordPress media attachments into galleries and manipulate gallery metadata via the `cg_check_wp_admin_upload_v10` action. It does not enable an attacker to move or upload files.

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 Contest Gallery WordPress plugin registers the cg_check_wp_admin_upload_v10 AJAX action accessible to both authenticated and unauthenticated users without capability checks or nonce verification. This allows unauthenticated attackers to inject existing WordPress media attachments into galleries and manipulate gallery metadata. The vulnerability does not permit file uploads or moving files.

MitigationUpdate to version 28.0.3 or later and add proper authentication and authorization checks to the AJAX action.

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. Confirm Contest Gallery plugin is installed
    Check WordPress plugins directory or admin panel for 'Contest Gallery' plugin
    Affected if Plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify installed plugin version
    View plugin header in wp-content/plugins/contest-gallery/readme.txt or check version in plugin main PHP file
    Affected if Version is below 28.0.3 (vulnerable versions: < 28.0.3)
  3. Verify AJAX endpoint is accessible
    Send a POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=cg_check_wp_admin_upload_v10 (no authentication required for vulnerable versions)
    Affected if Request returns a valid response without requiring authentication or a valid nonce
  4. Check if plugin galleries are publicly accessible
    Inspect gallery shortcode or block settings to determine if galleries can be modified by unauthenticated users
    Affected if Galleries allow public/frontend submission or modification without login

User is affected if Contest Gallery plugin is installed with version below 28.0.3 and the vulnerable AJAX action is exposed (default state in unpatched versions).

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 to version 28.0.3 or later and add proper authentication and authorization checks to the AJAX action.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Contest Gallery version 28.0.3 or later (latest stable release)

  1. 1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. 3. Locate the Contest Gallery plugin
  4. 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
  5. 5. After updating, verify the plugin is functioning correctly by testing gallery functionality

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2025-12849 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