CVE-2025-28997
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 EXEIdeas International WP AutoKeyword wp-autokeyword allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects WP AutoKeyword: from n/a through <= 1.0.
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 confidenceThe WP AutoKeyword WordPress plugin (version 1.0 and below) has a missing authorization vulnerability that allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels. This is a broken access control (BAC) issue where the plugin fails to properly verify user permissions before allowing access to certain functionality or sensitive 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm WP AutoKeyword plugin is installedNavigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'WP AutoKeyword' in the list. Alternatively, check the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder named 'wp-autokeyword' or similar.Affected if The plugin appears in the installed plugins list
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Identify installed plugin versionIn the Plugins list, locate WP AutoKeyword and note the version number displayed under the plugin name. If not visible in the list, click on the plugin to view its details page where the version is typically shown.Affected if The installed version is 1.0 or any version below 1.0
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Verify WordPress user roles presentGo to WordPress admin > Users > All Users and review the list of registered users and their assigned roles. Check for any subscriber, contributor, or other low-privilege roles that should not have administrative access.Affected if There are multiple user roles on the site (any role beyond a single administrator account)
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Test plugin admin access requirementsLog in with a non-administrator user account (such as Subscriber or Editor) and attempt to access the WP AutoKeyword plugin settings page directly via its admin URL path (commonly /wp-admin/admin.php?page=wp-autokeyword or similar).Affected if A non-administrator user can access the plugin settings or functionality without being prompted for permission
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Inspect plugin capability requirementsAccess the plugin files via FTP or file manager in /wp-content/plugins/ and examine the main plugin PHP file for capability checks (current_user_can, map_meta_cap, or role checks) before sensitive operations.Affected if No capability checks are found before key plugin functions, or checks are missing entirely
A user is affected if the WP AutoKeyword plugin version 1.0 or below is installed and non-administrator users can access plugin functionality without proper authorization verification.
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 dataImplement proper authorization checks (capability checks and nonce verification) on all sensitive functions and restrict access based on user roles and capabilities.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-28997 — 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-2025-28997 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
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