Unauthenticated account takeover via unthrottled SMS OTP guessing
Published Dec 16, 2025 · Updated Dec 16, 2025
Authentication bypass in WPCOM Member 1.7.16 and earlier allows remote attackers to take over accounts via brute-forced SMS OTPs. The SMS verification path accepts a six-digit code for ten minutes and performs no attempt throttling, leaving only one million possible values. Exploitation requires the target's phone number; successful guessing authenticates as that account, including an administrator account, unless the target reacts to the OTP message.
Summary
What happened
Authentication bypass in WPCOM Member 1.7.16 and earlier allows remote attackers to take over accounts via brute-forced SMS OTPs. The SMS verification path accepts a six-digit code for ten minutes and performs no attempt throttling, leaving only one million possible values. Exploitation requires the target's phone number; successful guessing authenticates as that account, including an administrator account, unless the target reacts to the OTP message.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-14002
- Published
- Dec 16, 2025
- Updated
- Dec 16, 2025
- Vendor
- WPCOM
- Product
- WPCOM Member
- Classifications
- CWE-287, T1110.001
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 16, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Dec 16, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=* <=1.7.16
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.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo