Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2025-48167

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 alexvtn Chatbox Manager wa-chatbox-manager allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Chatbox Manager: from n/a through <= 1.2.5.

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 Chatbox Manager WordPress plugin allows unauthenticated or unauthorized users to access or modify chatbox configurations due to incorrectly configured access control security levels. The plugin fails to properly validate user permissions before performing sensitive operations, potentially exposing chatbox data or allowing configuration changes.

MitigationImplement proper authorization checks (capability/permission verification) on all admin-facing functions and AJAX endpoints. Update to the latest version if a patch is available, or restrict access to sensitive actions by verifying user roles and capabilities.

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
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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. Locate the Chatbox Manager plugin installation
    In WordPress, check the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder named 'chatbox-manager' or similar. Alternatively, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins in the WordPress admin dashboard and look for 'Chatbox Manager' in the list.
    Affected if The plugin is installed and active in WordPress.
  2. Determine the installed plugin version
    In the WordPress admin dashboard, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and find the Chatbox Manager entry. The version number is displayed below the plugin name. If accessing via filesystem, open the main plugin file (usually chatbox-manager.php or similar) and look for the 'Version' header in the plugin comments.
    Affected if The installed version matches or falls within any affected version range (compare your version to the range if known).
  3. Identify exposed AJAX endpoints
    Examine the plugin directory for PHP files containing 'wp_ajax_' or 'wp_ajax_nopriv_' hooks, or look for JavaScript files that make AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with action parameters related to chatbox, chat, or config. Common paths: /wp-content/plugins/chatbox-manager/includes/ or /ajax/ folders within the plugin.
    Affected if The plugin registers AJAX endpoints that may be accessible without capability checks.
  4. Test unauthenticated access to sensitive functions
    Use a tool like curl or Burp Suite to send requests to the identified AJAX endpoints without providing authentication cookies or with a low-privilege user account. Example: curl -X POST http://your-site.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php -d 'action=chatbox_manager_action' (replace action with actual endpoint names found in step 3).
    Affected if The server responds with successful data or performs sensitive operations (viewing/modifying chatbox configurations) without requiring login or proper user capabilities.
  5. Verify capability checks on admin functions
    Examine the plugin PHP source code for functions handling chatbox configuration (save, delete, update, export functions). Look for calls to current_user_can(), check_admin_referer(), or other permission verification functions before executing sensitive operations. Search for 'add_action' or 'add_filter' hooks on admin pages.
    Affected if Sensitive configuration functions lack proper capability checks (e.g., no current_user_can('manage_options') or similar permission verification before executing.

A user is affected if the Chatbox Manager plugin is installed and its AJAX endpoints or admin functions can be accessed or executed by unauthenticated users or users lacking proper capabilities without rejection.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement proper authorization checks (capability/permission verification) on all admin-facing functions and AJAX endpoints. Update to the latest version if a patch is available, or restrict access to sensitive actions by verifying user roles and capabilities.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-48167 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data