dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2025-2224

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-25
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 Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory Plugin with Classified Ads Listings plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access and modification of data due to a missing capability check on the 'parse_query' function in all versions up to, and including, 8.2. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to update the post_status of any post to 'publish'.

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 Directorist WordPress plugin has a broken access control vulnerability in its parse_query function, which lacks a capability check. This allows unauthenticated attackers to manipulate the WordPress query system and set the post_status of any post to 'publish', effectively publishing content they should not have access to modify.

MitigationUpdate to version 8.3 or later which contains the capability check fix. Until then, consider restricting access to the wp-admin area or disabling the plugin if update is not available.

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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. Verify Directorist plugin installation
    Check if the Directorist plugin is present in your WordPress installation by inspecting the plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for the directorist folder, or view it in wp-admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins
    Affected if The directorist folder exists in the plugins directory
  2. Identify installed version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and find Directorist, then look at the version number displayed under the plugin name. Alternatively, check the main plugin file (usually directorist.php or class-directorist.php) for the 'Version' header
    Affected if The version number is lower than 8.3 (versions below 8.3 are affected)
  3. Confirm plugin is active
    In wp-admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins, verify that the Directorist plugin shows as 'Active' rather than 'Inactive'. The vulnerable parse_query function only runs when the plugin is actively loaded
    Affected if The plugin status shows as Active
  4. Check for unauthenticated access vector
    The vulnerability allows unauthenticated (not-logged-in) users to manipulate post_status. Verify whether your site permits unauthenticated access to wp-admin or if there are any public-facing forms or endpoints that interact with the Directorist plugin's query manipulation
    Affected if Unauthenticated users can reach endpoints that trigger the parse_query function

You are affected if the Directorist plugin is installed, active, and running version 7.x or any version below 8.3, allowing unauthenticated users to potentially publish private content.

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 8.3 or later which contains the capability check fix. Until then, consider restricting access to the wp-admin area or disabling the plugin if update is not available.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

8.3 or later (latest stable release)

  1. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins in the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Locate the Directorist plugin
  3. Check if the current version is 8.2 or lower
  4. If vulnerable, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
  5. Verify the update was successful and the site functions normally

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,900
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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-2025-2224 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
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