dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2025-2821

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-07
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 Search Exclude plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the get_rest_permission function in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.9. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to modify plugin settings, excluding content from search results.

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 Search Exclude WordPress plugin lacks a capability check on its get_rest_permission function, allowing unauthenticated attackers to access the plugin's REST API endpoint and modify settings to exclude arbitrary content from WordPress search results.

MitigationUpdate the Search Exclude plugin to version 2.5.0 or later which implements proper capability checks on the REST permission callback. Alternatively, disable the plugin until a patch is 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
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 Search Exclude plugin is installed
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Plugins and look for 'Search Exclude' in the installed plugins list, or check the filesystem at wp-content/plugins/search-exclude/
    Affected if The Search Exclude plugin is present and active on the WordPress site
  2. Check the installed plugin version
    In WordPress admin > Plugins > Search Exclude, view the plugin details to see the version number, or read the main plugin file header at wp-content/plugins/search-exclude/search-exclude.php
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 2.5.0 (versions prior to 2.5.0 lack the capability check)
  3. Inspect REST API permission callback
    Locate the get_rest_permission function in the plugin file (typically in search-exclude.php or includes/class-search-exclude.php) and verify if it performs a capability check such as current_user_can('manage_options') before allowing access
    Affected if The get_rest_permission function exists but contains no capability check or always returns true, allowing unauthenticated access
  4. Test REST endpoint accessibility
    Send a GET request to the plugin's REST endpoint (typically /wp-json/search-exclude/v1/settings or /wp-json/search-exclude/v1/excluded-posts) without providing authentication credentials
    Affected if The REST API responds with data or allows modifications without requiring authentication (status 200 rather than 401/403)

A WordPress site running Search Exclude plugin versions before 2.5.0 with an exposed and unauthenticated-accessible REST API endpoint is affected by this vulnerability.

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 Search Exclude plugin to version 2.5.0 or later which implements proper capability checks on the REST permission callback. Alternatively, disable the plugin until a patch is available.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Search Exclude version 2.5.0 or later

  1. Update the Search Exclude plugin to version 2.5.0 or later via the WordPress admin dashboard under Plugins > All Plugins > Search Exclude > Update Now
  2. Alternatively, navigate to Dashboard > Updates and click 'Update Now' for the Search Exclude plugin
  3. Verify the update was successful by checking the plugin version number after updating

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-2821 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-2821 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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