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Improper Privilege ManagementWeakness · CWE-269

CVE-2025-13538

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
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 FindAll Listing plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.5. This is due to the 'findall_listing_user_registration_additional_params' function not restricting what user roles a user can register with. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to supply the 'administrator' role during registration and gain administrator access to the site. Note: The vulnerability can only be exploited if the FindAll Membership plugin is also activated, because user registration is in that plugin.

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 FindAll Listing WordPress plugin has a privilege escalation vulnerability in versions up to 1.0.5. The vulnerable function `findall_listing_user_registration_additional_params` does not validate or restrict the user role parameter during registration, allowing unauthenticated attackers to specify the 'administrator' role and gain full administrative access to the WordPress site. Exploitation requires the FindAll Membership plugin to be active, as it handles the user registration functionality.

MitigationImmediately update the FindAll Listing plugin to the latest version once available. Until then, disable the FindAll Membership plugin to prevent user registration, or remove the plugins entirely if not needed. Monitor for any unauthorized administrator accounts created on the site.

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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. Check FindAll Listing plugin version
    Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins in WordPress admin, locate FindAll Listing, and note the version number. Alternatively, inspect the plugin main file header or use: wp plugin list --name=findall-listing
    Affected if Version is 1.0.5 or lower (versions up to 1.0.5 are affected)
  2. Check if FindAll Membership plugin is active
    Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins in WordPress admin, locate FindAll Membership, and verify its status. Alternatively, use: wp plugin list --status=active --name=findall-membership
    Affected if FindAll Membership plugin is active (exploitation requires this plugin as it contains the user registration functionality)
  3. Verify WordPress user registration is enabled
    Go to WordPress admin > Settings > General > Membership: ensure 'Anyone can register' is checked. Alternatively, check the 'users_can_register' option in wp-options via: wp option get users_can_register
    Affected if User registration is enabled on the WordPress site (the vulnerability is exploited during the registration process)
  4. Inspect the findall_listing_user_registration_additional_params function
    Examine the FindAll Listing plugin source code, specifically the function findall_listing_user_registration_additional_params in the main plugin file. Look for whether the user role parameter is validated or restricted before being passed to wp_create_user or related functions.
    Affected if The function does not validate or restrict the role parameter, allowing arbitrary role assignment including 'administrator'

You are affected if FindAll Listing plugin version is 1.0.5 or lower, FindAll Membership plugin is active, and WordPress user registration is enabled, allowing unauthenticated privilege escalation to administrator.

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

Immediately update the FindAll Listing plugin to the latest version once available. Until then, disable the FindAll Membership plugin to prevent user registration, or remove the plugins entirely if not needed. Monitor for any unauthorized administrator accounts created on the site.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

FindAll Listing plugin version 1.0.6 or later (and FindAll Membership plugin latest version)

  1. 1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. 3. Locate the FindAll Listing plugin
  4. 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
  5. 5. Also check and update the FindAll Membership plugin to its latest version
  6. 6. After updating, verify that the privilege escalation vulnerability is resolved by confirming user registration no longer allows arbitrary role assignment
Caveat Review plugin settings after upgrade as configuration may need verification

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

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-2025-13538 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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