CVE-2026-25309
Published: 25 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-25309 is a high-severity Missing Authorization (CWE-862) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 15.1th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-25309, published on 2026-03-25, is a missing authorization vulnerability (CWE-862) in the PublishPress Authors WordPress plugin (slug: publishpress-authors). The flaw allows exploitation of incorrectly configured access control security levels and affects all versions from n/a through 4.10.1.
Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low complexity and no user interaction required, per its CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N). Exploitation grants high-impact unauthorized access to confidential data without affecting integrity or availability.
The Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Plugin/publishpress-authors/vulnerability/wordpress-publishpress-authors-plugin-4-10-1-broken-access-control-vulnerability-2?_s_id=cve provides details on this broken access control issue in version 4.10.1, including recommended mitigations for affected WordPress installations.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-15639
Vulnerability details
Missing Authorization vulnerability in PublishPress PublishPress Authors publishpress-authors allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects PublishPress Authors: from n/a through <= 4.10.1.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Missing authorization (CWE-862) in public WordPress plugin allows unauthenticated network exploitation for data access, directly matching T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
SI-2 requires timely identification, reporting, and correction of flaws like the missing authorization in PublishPress Authors plugin versions through 4.10.1, directly preventing exploitation of CVE-2026-25309.
AC-3 enforces approved authorizations for access to system resources, directly countering the plugin's missing authorization checks that allow unauthenticated attackers to access confidential data.
CM-6 mandates secure configuration settings for components like the PublishPress Authors plugin, mitigating exploitation of incorrectly configured access control security levels.