CVE-2025-13486

CriticalRCE

Published: 03 December 2025

Published

03 December 2025

Modified

15 April 2026

KEV Added

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Patch

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CVSS Score 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Score 0.7131 98.7th percentile

Risk Priority 62 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2025-13486 is a critical-severity Code Injection (CWE-94) vulnerability in Wordpress (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 1.3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).

Threat & Defense at a Glance

What attackers do: exploitation maps to Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190). What defenders deploy: see the NIST 800-53 controls recommended below.

Threat & Defense Details

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

prevent

Directly enforces validation of unsanitized user input to the prepare_form() function before passing to call_user_func_array(), preventing arbitrary PHP code execution.

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match

prevent

Mandates timely flaw remediation by patching the vulnerable Advanced Custom Fields: Extended plugin versions 0.9.0.5 through 0.9.1.1 as detailed in the provided mitigation changeset.

RA-5 Vulnerability Monitoring and Scanning partial match

detect

Vulnerability scanning identifies the presence of CVE-2025-13486 in installed WordPress plugins, enabling proactive remediation.

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access

Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.

attack.mitre.org →

Why these techniques?

Unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability in a public-facing WordPress plugin directly enables T1190: Exploit Public-Facing Application.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

NVD Description

The Advanced Custom Fields: Extended plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in versions 0.9.0.5 through 0.9.1.1 via the prepare_form() function. This is due to the function accepting user input and then passing that through call_user_func_array(). This makes…

it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code on the server, which can be leveraged to inject backdoors or create new administrative user accounts.

Deeper analysisAI

CVE-2025-13486 is a remote code execution vulnerability in the Advanced Custom Fields: Extended plugin for WordPress, affecting versions 0.9.0.5 through 0.9.1.1. The flaw originates in the prepare_form() function, which accepts unsanitized user input and passes it directly to call_user_func_array(), allowing arbitrary PHP code execution. Published on 2025-12-03, it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and maps to CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code).

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability remotely with low complexity and no user interaction. Exploitation enables arbitrary code execution on the affected server, which attackers can use to inject persistent backdoors or create new administrative user accounts, potentially compromising the entire WordPress installation.

Mitigation details are provided in the WordPress plugin trac changeset at https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3400134/acf-extended, which addresses the issue. Additional threat intelligence, including exploitation vectors, is available from Wordfence at https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/c508cb73-53e6-4ebe-b3d0-285908b722c9?source=cve.