dbcve.org
Information ExposureWeakness · CWE-200

CVE-2025-14980

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 BetterDocs plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 4.3.3 via the scripts() function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to extract sensitive data including the OpenAI API key stored in plugin settings.

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 BetterDocs WordPress plugin versions up to 4.3.3 contain a sensitive information exposure vulnerability in the scripts() function. Authenticated users with contributor-level permissions or higher can exploit this to extract sensitive plugin settings, specifically the OpenAI API key stored in the plugin configuration.

MitigationUpdate the BetterDocs plugin to a version beyond 4.3.3 once the patch is released. Additionally, rotate any OpenAI API keys that may have been exposed as a precautionary measure.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 BetterDocs plugin is installed
    Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins and look for BetterDocs in the installed plugins list, or check the wp-content/plugins/betterdocs directory exists
    Affected if BetterDocs plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify the installed BetterDocs version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins > BetterDocs and read the version number displayed below the plugin name, or inspect the main plugin file header for the Version field
    Affected if The version number is 4.3.3 or lower
  3. Check if OpenAI integration is enabled
    Navigate to BetterDocs settings (usually under BetterDocs > Settings or Docs Settings) and look for OpenAI API configuration fields, or inspect the wp_options table for options containing 'betterdocs' and 'openai' keywords
    Affected if OpenAI API key field is populated or OpenAI integration is enabled in plugin settings
  4. Verify contributor-level or higher user accounts exist
    In WordPress admin, go to Users > All Users and review the assigned roles, or query the wp_usermeta table filtering for roles containing 'contributor', 'author', 'editor', or 'administrator'
    Affected if At least one user account has contributor-level permissions or higher
  5. Confirm the scripts() function is accessible
    Check if the file wp-content/plugins/betterdocs/includes/* contains a scripts() function that outputs plugin configuration data without proper capability checks, or test accessing the endpoint that calls this function with a contributor-level account
    Affected if The scripts() function outputs sensitive plugin settings including API keys without verifying user capabilities

A user is affected if BetterDocs plugin version 4.3.3 or lower is installed, OpenAI integration is configured in the plugin, and any authenticated user with contributor-level permissions or higher exists in the WordPress site.

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 BetterDocs plugin to a version beyond 4.3.3 once the patch is released. Additionally, rotate any OpenAI API keys that may have been exposed as a precautionary measure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

BetterDocs version 4.3.4 or later

  1. 1. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard and go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  2. 2. Locate BetterDocs in the plugin list
  3. 3. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to update to the latest patched version
  4. 4. Alternatively, download the latest version of BetterDocs from the official WordPress plugin repository and manually update
  5. 5. After updating, verify that the OpenAI API key and other sensitive settings are still correctly configured in the plugin settings
  6. 6. Consider rotating the exposed API key as a precautionary security measure

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
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

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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-2025-14980 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