The vulnerability CVE-2025-11244 affects the WordPress plugin 'Password Protected — Lock Entire Site, Pages, Posts, Categories, and Partial Content' developed by saadiqbal. It is classified as CWE-285 (Improper Authorization) and exists in all versions up to and including 2.7.11. The root cause is the plugin's reliance on client-controlled HTTP headers such as X-Forwarded-For and HTTP_CLIENT_IP to determine the user's IP address within the pp_get_ip_address() function when the 'Use transients' feature is enabled. This feature is not enabled by default, but when active, it causes the plugin to trust these headers without proper validation. An attacker can exploit this by spoofing these headers with the IP address of a legitimately authorized user, thereby bypassing the password protection mechanism. This attack vector is only viable if the WordPress site is not protected by a CDN or reverse proxy that overwrites or sanitizes these headers, as such infrastructure would prevent spoofing. The vulnerability does not require authentication or user interaction but has a high attack complexity due to the need to guess or know a legitimate user's IP address and the specific plugin configuration. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 3.7 (Low), reflecting limited confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability impact. No public exploits have been reported to date, and no patches or updates have been linked yet. The vulnerability was published on October 25, 2025.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability is primarily on confidentiality, as unauthorized users could gain access to password-protected content by spoofing IP addresses. This could lead to exposure of sensitive internal pages, posts, or partial content that organizations intended to restrict. However, the impact is limited by the requirement that the 'Use transients' feature be enabled and that the site is not behind a CDN or reverse proxy sanitizing IP headers. Organizations relying on this plugin for access control without additional layers of protection may face data leakage risks. The vulnerability does not affect data integrity or availability, so the risk of data manipulation or service disruption is minimal. Given the widespread use of WordPress in Europe, especially among small and medium enterprises and public sector websites, the vulnerability could be exploited to bypass access controls on a variety of sites, potentially exposing confidential information. However, the low severity and complexity reduce the likelihood of widespread exploitation. Organizations in sectors with strict data protection requirements, such as finance, healthcare, and government, should be particularly vigilant.

European organizations using the Password Protected plugin should first verify if the 'Use transients' feature is enabled; if so, consider disabling it immediately to eliminate the attack vector. If disabling is not feasible, implement strict validation or sanitization of client-supplied HTTP headers at the web server or application firewall level to prevent IP spoofing. Deploying a CDN or reverse proxy that overwrites or removes X-Forwarded-For and similar headers from untrusted sources will mitigate the risk effectively. Additionally, organizations should monitor access logs for suspicious IP address patterns or repeated access attempts with spoofed headers. Applying the principle of least privilege by limiting which users or IPs can access sensitive content and enabling multi-factor authentication where possible will further reduce risk. Regularly updating the plugin once a patch is released is critical. Finally, conducting security audits and penetration testing focused on access control mechanisms can help identify similar weaknesses.