CVE-2025-23862
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 · uneditedMissing Authorization vulnerability in SzMake Contact Form 7 Anti Spambot contact-form-7-anti-spambot allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Contact Form 7 Anti Spambot: from n/a through <= 1.0.1.
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 · moderate confidenceMissing Authorization vulnerability in Contact Form 7 Anti Spambot plugin allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels. The plugin fails to properly validate user permissions before granting access to certain functionality, potentially enabling unauthorized actions.
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
- None
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
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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Confirm plugin is installedNavigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins and verify Contact Form 7 Anti Spambot is installed and activeAffected if Plugin is installed and active
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Identify installed versionIn Plugins list, locate Contact Form 7 Anti Spambot and note the version number displayed. Compare this to the latest version available on the WordPress plugin repositoryAffected if Installed version lacks the authorization fix (older than current repository version)
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Inspect plugin file for capability checksExamine the main plugin PHP file (typically cf7-antispambot.php or similar) and look for add_action calls registering admin-ajax or front-end hooks. Verify if current_user_can() or similar capability checks appear before sensitive operationsAffected if Hooks handling sensitive actions lack current_user_can() validation
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Check AJAX action handlersReview PHP files containing wp_ajax_ and wp_ajax_nopriv_ hooks. For each handler, verify that permission/capability validation occurs before executing the actionAffected if AJAX handlers registered with wp_ajax_nopriv_ or lack permission checks inside the handler
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Test unauthorized access to admin functionsAttempt to access plugin admin pages or trigger admin actions while logged out or as a low-privilege user (e.g., subscriber). Observe if the action executes without redirect or errorAffected if Actions execute without requiring proper user capabilities
If the plugin is active, running an older version, and sensitive functions lack current_user_can() checks or accept requests from unauthenticated users, the environment is likely affected by this authorization bypass.
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.
From vendor dataUpdate to the latest version of Contact Form 7 Anti Spambot. Review and enforce proper capability checks and nonce validation on all admin and front-end actions within the plugin.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-23862 — 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-2025-23862 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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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.
- 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