CVE-2025-12937
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 ACF Flexible Layouts Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the 'acf_flm_update_template_with_pasted_layout' function in all versions up to, and including, 1.1.6. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to update custom field values on individual posts and pages.
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 ACF Flexible Layouts Manager WordPress plugin lacks a capability check on the 'acf_flm_update_template_with_pasted_layout' AJAX function, allowing unauthenticated attackers to modify custom field values on any post or page via the vulnerable endpoint.
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
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate the plugin installationCheck if the ACF Flexible Layouts Manager plugin exists in your WordPress installation at wp-content/plugins/acf-flexible-layouts-manager/ or similar path containing 'acf-flm' or 'flexible-layouts-manager'Affected if The plugin directory exists on the server
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Identify the installed plugin versionOpen the main plugin PHP file (usually named similarly to the directory) and locate the version comment in the plugin header, or check the readme.txt file for the 'Stable tag' version numberAffected if The version number found is lower than 1.1.7 or cannot be determined (older than fixed release)
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Verify the plugin is activeIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and confirm ACF Flexible Layouts Manager shows as 'Active'Affected if The plugin is currently activated on the site
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Test AJAX endpoint accessibility (optional)Send a POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=acf_flm_update_template_with_pasted_layout and observe if the server accepts it without authentication errors (requires technical understanding of HTTP responses)Affected if The endpoint returns a response without requiring authentication (HTTP 200 rather than 401/403)
You are affected if the ACF Flexible Layouts Manager plugin is installed and active with a version lower than 1.1.7, as the missing capability check on the AJAX function would allow unauthenticated modification of custom field values.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate the plugin to version 1.1.7 or later which includes proper authorization checks; alternatively, disable the plugin until a patch is available.
Version 1.1.7 or latest available version
- Log in to WordPress admin dashboard
- Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- Find 'ACF Flexible Layouts Manager' and click 'Update Now' if an update is available
- Alternatively, run: wp plugin update acf-flexible-layouts-manager
- After updating, verify the version is greater than 1.1.6
- Test that custom field functionality still works as expected on affected posts/pages
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-12937 — 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-2025-12937 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data