dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2025-31780

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-01
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
74/100
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
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Andy Stratton Append Content append-content allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Append Content: from n/a through <= 2.1.1.

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 confidence

Missing authorization vulnerability in the Append Content WordPress plugin allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially enabling unauthenticated or lower-privileged users to modify content that should be restricted to administrators or higher-privileged roles.

MitigationUpdate the Append Content plugin to the latest version once available, or implement proper capability checks and authorization validation on all content modification functions within the plugin.

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
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Locate the Append Content plugin files
    Check the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for a folder named 'append-content' or similar. Also check wp-content/mu-plugins/ for must-use installations.
    Affected if The plugin folder 'append-content' exists in the WordPress plugins directory
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    Open the plugin's main PHP file (often named append-content.php) or the readme.txt file in the plugin folder and locate the Version header or changelog.
    Affected if The version listed is earlier than the fixed version released for CVE-2025-31780 (compare your version to the patched release)
  3. Verify the plugin is active
    In the WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins and check if 'Append Content' shows as Active, or query the wp_options table for the option_name 'active_plugins' to see if the plugin is enabled.
    Affected if The Append Content plugin appears in the active plugins list or database option
  4. Test content modification access levels
    Create a test page or post, then attempt to use the Append Content plugin functionality (typically found in plugin settings or applied to content) while logged in as a subscriber, contributor, or author role (not administrator).
    Affected if A lower-privileged user (subscriber, contributor, or author) can modify or append content that should require administrator-level permissions
  5. Review plugin capability checks in code
    Examine the main plugin PHP file for calls to current_user_can(), wp_get_current_user(), or capability verification functions around any content modification or save functions.
    Affected if The plugin lacks proper current_user_can() checks before allowing content modifications, or capability checks are missing/incomplete

You are affected if the Append Content plugin is installed, active, and running a version predating the CVE-2025-31780 fix, particularly if lower-privileged users can modify content without proper authorization checks.

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 Append Content plugin to the latest version once available, or implement proper capability checks and authorization validation on all content modification functions within the plugin.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest available version of Append Content plugin (check WordPress plugin repository for current stable release)

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the 'Append Content' plugin by Andy Stratton
  4. Check if an update is available and install the latest version
  5. Verify the update was successful and the plugin is active
  6. Test the plugin functionality to ensure it works correctly after the update

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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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-2025-31780 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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