dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2025-8152

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
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
The WP CTA – Call To Action Plugin, Sticky CTA, Sticky Buttons plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the 'update_cta_status' and 'change_sticky_sidebar_name' functions in all versions up to, and including, 1.7.0. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to update the status of a sticky and update the name displayed in the back-end WP CTA Dashboard.

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

This is a Broken Access Control vulnerability in a WordPress plugin where two AJAX action functions ('update_cta_status' and 'change_sticky_sidebar_name') lack capability checks (e.g., current_user_can()). The functions are accessible to unauthenticated users, allowing them to modify CTA status settings and rename sticky sidebars in the backend dashboard. While the impact is limited to data modification rather than code execution, it represents a significant authorization flaw.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to version 1.7.1 or later which should include proper capability checks. If no patched version is available, disable the plugin or implement firewall rules to block the vulnerable AJAX endpoints (wp_ajax_update_cta_status and wp_ajax_change_sticky_sidebar_name).

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
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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. Identify the WordPress plugin with CTA and sticky sidebar features
    In your WordPress installation, list installed plugins and look for one that provides CTA (Call-to-Action) management and sticky sidebar functionality. The plugin name is not explicitly stated in this CVE summary.
    Affected if The plugin with CTA status management and sticky sidebar renaming features is installed.
  2. Check the installed plugin version
    Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins in the WordPress admin dashboard and locate the version number for the identified plugin. Compare this against version 1.7.1 which contains the patched version.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 1.7.1.
  3. Test AJAX endpoint accessibility for update_cta_status
    Send a POST request to your WordPress site at /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with the action parameter set to 'update_cta_status' without including any authentication tokens or cookies. Observe if the endpoint responds.
    Affected if The endpoint returns a successful response or accepts the request without requiring authentication.
  4. Test AJAX endpoint accessibility for change_sticky_sidebar_name
    Send a POST request to your WordPress site at /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with the action parameter set to 'change_sticky_sidebar_name' without including any authentication tokens or cookies. Observe if the endpoint responds.
    Affected if The endpoint returns a successful response or accepts the request without requiring authentication.
  5. Verify capability checks exist in the AJAX handlers
    Access the plugin source code (typically in wp-content/plugins/) and locate the functions handling 'update_cta_status' and 'change_sticky_sidebar_name' AJAX actions. Inspect whether these functions include current_user_can() or similar authorization checks before processing the request.
    Affected if No capability check function like current_user_can() is found in either AJAX handler function.

You are affected if the plugin with CTA and sticky sidebar features is installed at a version lower than 1.7.1 AND its AJAX endpoints respond to unauthenticated requests without proper capability verification.

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 plugin to version 1.7.1 or later which should include proper capability checks. If no patched version is available, disable the plugin or implement firewall rules to block the vulnerable AJAX endpoints (wp_ajax_update_cta_status and wp_ajax_change_sticky_sidebar_name).

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Version 1.7.1 or latest available version

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the 'WP CTA – Call To Action Plugin, Sticky CTA, Sticky Buttons' plugin
  4. Click 'Update Now' if an update is available, or manually download the latest version from the WordPress Plugin Repository
  5. Verify the update to version 1.7.1 or later was successfully applied

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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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-2025-8152 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