dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2025-5701

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
The HyperComments plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data that can lead to privilege escalation due to a missing capability check on the hc_request_handler function in all versions up to, and including, 1.2.2. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to update arbitrary options on the WordPress site. This can be leveraged to update the default role for registration to administrator and enable user registration for attackers to gain administrative user access to a vulnerable site.

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 confidence

The HyperComments WordPress plugin up to version 1.2.2 lacks a capability check on the hc_request_handler function, allowing unauthenticated attackers to modify arbitrary WordPress options. Attackers can enable user registration and set the default new user role to Administrator, creating an admin account and achieving full site compromise.

MitigationUpdate the HyperComments plugin to a version after 1.2.2 that includes proper authorization checks, or remove the plugin if no update is available. Immediately audit existing admin accounts for unauthorized additions.

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify HyperComments plugin is installed
    Go to WordPress Admin > Plugins and look for 'HyperComments' in the list of installed plugins
    Affected if The plugin is not installed or has been removed entirely
  2. Check installed version of HyperComments
    In Plugins list, click on the HyperComments plugin to view its details, or check the plugin files (usually in wp-content/plugins/hypercomments) for a version number in the main PHP file or readme.txt
    Affected if Version is 1.2.2 or lower (versions 1.2.3 and later contain the fix)
  3. Confirm plugin is active
    In WordPress Admin > Plugins, verify the HyperComments plugin shows as 'Active'
    Affected if Plugin is active; an inactive plugin cannot be exploited via this vulnerability
  4. Check if WordPress user registration is enabled
    In WordPress Admin > Settings > General, look for the 'Membership' setting 'Anyone can register' - check if it is enabled
    Affected if User registration is enabled; this is required for the exploit to work
  5. Check default user role setting
    In WordPress Admin > Settings > General, look for 'Default Role' dropdown - note which role is selected
    Affected if Default role is set to Administrator or any high-privilege role (Editor, Author)

A user is affected if they have HyperComments plugin version 1.2.2 or below active AND WordPress user registration is enabled AND the default role is set to Administrator

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 HyperComments plugin to a version after 1.2.2 that includes proper authorization checks, or remove the plugin if no update is available. Immediately audit existing admin accounts for unauthorized additions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest version after 1.2.2 (check WordPress plugin repository for current stable release)

  1. 1. Update the HyperComments plugin to the latest available version from the WordPress plugin repository
  2. 2. After updating, verify that the hc_request_handler function has been removed or now includes proper capability checks
  3. 3. Review WordPress user settings to ensure no unauthorized administrative accounts have been created
  4. 4. Change the default user role back to a safe setting (e.g., Subscriber) if it was changed by an attacker
  5. 5. Audit existing user accounts for any unauthorized administrator accounts and remove them if found
  6. 6. Consider implementing additional security measures such as a WAF rule to block requests to hc_request_handler

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2025-5701 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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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