Subscriber-to-Administrator escalation via unchecked user metadata update
Published Oct 28, 2023 · Updated Apr 8, 2026
Missing authorization in Post Meta Data Manager 1.2.0 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to grant themselves administrator privileges. The pmdm_wp_change_user_meta and pmdm_wp_change_post_meta functions update metadata without checking the caller's capabilities. Subscriber-level access is sufficient; exploitation rewrites WordPress authorization data and elevates the attacker's account.
Summary
What happened
Missing authorization in Post Meta Data Manager 1.2.0 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to grant themselves administrator privileges. The pmdm_wp_change_user_meta and pmdm_wp_change_post_meta functions update metadata without checking the caller's capabilities. Subscriber-level access is sufficient; exploitation rewrites WordPress authorization data and elevates the attacker's account.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-5425
- Published
- Oct 28, 2023
- Updated
- Apr 8, 2026
- Vendor
- WpExpertPlugins
- Product
- Post Meta Data Manager
- Classifications
- CWE-862, T1098
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 28, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 8, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <=1.2.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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