Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2025-23916

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
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
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Nuanced Media WP Meetup wp-meetup allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects WP Meetup: from n/a through <= 2.3.0.

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 confidence

The WP Meetup plugin for WordPress contains a missing authorization vulnerability where access control checks are incorrectly configured or missing entirely. This allows authenticated users with insufficient privileges to access administrative or sensitive meeting management functions that should require higher capability levels. The vulnerability stems from improper implementation of WordPress capability checks (e.g., current_user_can()) before executing sensitive operations.

MitigationApply the latest plugin update which should include proper authorization checks, or manually add WordPress capability verification (current_user_can()) with appropriate roles (administrator, organizer) before any sensitive meetup operations.

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
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm WP Meetup plugin is installed
    Log into WordPress admin and navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins, or check the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for the wp-meetup folder
    Affected if The plugin is present in the environment
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    In WordPress admin, find WP Meetup in the plugins list and note the version number displayed under the plugin name, or open the main plugin file (e.g., wp-meetup.php) and look for the 'Version' header comment
    Affected if The version is unknown or cannot be determined from the plugin header
  3. Verify the plugin is active
    In WordPress admin > Plugins, check if WP Meetup shows as 'Active' under the plugin status column
    Affected if The plugin is active and running on the site
  4. Inspect for proper capability checks in plugin code
    Examine the main plugin PHP files for presence of current_user_can() calls before sensitive operations (e.g., meeting creation, deletion, user role assignment). Check if capability checks use appropriate capabilities like 'manage_options' or 'organize_meetings' before executing administrative functions
    Affected if No current_user_can() checks exist, or checks use insufficient capabilities (e.g., 'edit_posts' for admin functions)
  5. Test for authorization bypass
    Create or use a WordPress user account with a low-privilege role (e.g., Subscriber) and attempt to access WP Meetup administrative functions directly via URL (e.g., admin pages for creating/editing meetups)
    Affected if A low-privilege user can access or modify meetup data that should require administrator or organizer privileges

The environment is affected if the WP Meetup plugin is active, lacks proper current_user_can() capability verification before sensitive meetup operations, or allows users with subscriber/contributor roles to access administrative meeting management functions.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the latest plugin update which should include proper authorization checks, or manually add WordPress capability verification (current_user_can()) with appropriate roles (administrator, organizer) before any sensitive meetup operations.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-23916 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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