CVE-2025-3520
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 Avatar plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file deletion due to insufficient file path validation in a function in all versions up to, and including, 0.1.4. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to delete arbitrary files on the server, which can easily lead to remote code execution when the right file is deleted (such as wp-config.php).
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 Avatar WordPress plugin has an arbitrary file deletion vulnerability caused by insufficient file path validation in a function. Authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access can manipulate file paths to delete arbitrary files on the server, including wp-config.php, leading to potential remote code execution.
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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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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Confirm Avatar plugin installationCheck for the presence of the Avatar plugin in the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) or via the WordPress admin plugins list.Affected if The Avatar plugin is installed and active on the WordPress site.
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Identify the installed Avatar plugin versionLocate the main plugin file (typically avatar.php or index.php in the avatar plugin folder) and read the version header declared in the plugin comments, or query the WordPress database plugins table for the version value.Affected if The installed version is lower than 0.1.5.
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Check for existing Subscriber-level user accountsIn WordPress admin, go to Users > All Users and review the role column, or query the wp_usermeta table where meta_key = 'wp_capabilities' and meta_value contains 'subscriber'.Affected if Any user account with Subscriber role exists on the site.
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Verify wp-config.php integrityCheck if the wp-config.php file exists in the WordPress root directory and has not been recently modified or deleted.Affected if The wp-config.php file is missing or appears to have been deleted.
Your environment is affected if the Avatar plugin versions below 0.1.5 are installed, any Subscriber-level user accounts exist, and the vulnerable file deletion function is accessible to authenticated users.
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 dataUpdate the Avatar plugin to version 0.1.5 or later. If immediate update is not possible, disable the plugin until patched. Consider implementing additional file system access controls at the server level as a defense-in-depth measure.
- 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-2025-3520 — 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-2025-3520 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data