CVE-2025-3418
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 · uneditedThe WPC Admin Columns plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in versions 2.0.6 to 2.1.0. This is due to the plugin not properly restricting user meta values that can be updated through the ajax_edit_save() function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to update their role to that of an administrator.
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 confidenceThe WPC Admin Columns plugin for WordPress versions 2.0.6 to 2.1.0 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in its ajax_edit_save() function. The function improperly allows authenticated users with Subscriber-level access to update arbitrary user meta values, enabling them to modify their own user role to administrator.
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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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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Identify WPC Admin Columns plugin installationNavigate to WordPress Admin > Plugins and locate 'WPC Admin Columns' in the list, or inspect the plugin directory at /wp-content/plugins/wpc-admin-columns/ and check the main plugin file header for the Version commentAffected if The plugin is installed and the version is 2.0.6, 2.0.7, 2.0.8, 2.0.9, 2.1.0, or any version between 2.0.6 and 2.1.0 inclusive
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Verify the ajax_edit_save function existsInspect the plugin file containing ajax_edit_save (typically in includes/ or admin/ directory under the plugin folder) and confirm the function accepts user meta parameters without role validationAffected if The function exists and contains code that processes user meta updates without checking if the requesting user has administrator privileges
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Confirm user role configuration allows subscriber accessGo to WordPress Admin > Users > Roles or use a role management plugin to verify if Subscriber-level accounts exist and can access the WordPress dashboard or if wp_ajax hooks are registered for subscriber-level usersAffected if Subscriber role users exist and have access to wp_ajax hooks that invoke ajax_edit_save, or if any non-administrator role can trigger the vulnerable function
You are affected if the WPC Admin Columns plugin version is 2.0.6 through 2.1.0 and Subscriber-level (or lower) user accounts can access or trigger the ajax_edit_save function to modify user meta values.
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 dataUpgrade the WPC Admin Columns plugin to version 2.1.1 or later, which contains proper restrictions on user meta value updates. Until upgraded, consider restricting ajax_edit_save() access to administrator-level users only.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-3418 — 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-2025-3418 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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- 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