CVE-2025-12377 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) found in the Envira Photo Gallery plugin for WordPress, developed by smub. The flaw arises from a missing capability check on several functions within the plugin, allowing authenticated users with Author-level privileges or higher to bypass authorization controls. This enables them to perform unauthorized modifications, such as deleting images from galleries they do not own or manage. The vulnerability affects all versions of the plugin up to and including version 1.12.0, where a partial fix was introduced but not a complete resolution. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.3, reflecting a medium severity level, with the vector indicating network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required (PR:N in vector likely a data inconsistency, but description states Author-level access needed), no user interaction, unchanged scope, no confidentiality impact, limited integrity impact, and no availability impact. The vulnerability compromises data integrity by allowing unauthorized content modification but does not expose sensitive data or cause denial of service. No public exploits have been observed, but the risk remains for sites with multiple authors or contributors who could abuse their privileges. The plugin is widely used in WordPress environments for managing photo galleries, making this vulnerability relevant for many websites relying on this functionality.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-12377 lies in the unauthorized modification of website content, specifically image galleries managed by the Envira Photo Gallery plugin. This can lead to defacement, loss of important visual content, or manipulation of media assets, which may damage brand reputation and user trust. Organizations that rely heavily on visual content for marketing, e-commerce, or customer engagement could see a direct negative effect on their online presence. Additionally, unauthorized content changes could be leveraged as part of a broader attack, such as inserting misleading images or removing critical visual information. While the vulnerability does not directly expose confidential data or cause service outages, the integrity compromise can have cascading effects on business operations and compliance with data integrity requirements under regulations like GDPR. Since exploitation requires authenticated access at the Author level or higher, organizations with multiple content contributors or less restrictive role management are at greater risk. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate threat but does not eliminate the risk of targeted attacks or insider abuse.

European organizations should take the following specific steps to mitigate CVE-2025-12377: 1) Immediately update the Envira Photo Gallery plugin to the latest version once a complete patch beyond 1.12.0 is released, as the current partial fix does not fully resolve the issue. 2) Review and tighten WordPress user role assignments, limiting Author-level access only to trusted users and minimizing the number of users with elevated privileges. 3) Implement strict access controls and monitoring on WordPress admin accounts, including multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of compromised credentials. 4) Conduct regular audits of gallery content and logs to detect unauthorized modifications early. 5) Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting gallery modification endpoints. 6) Educate content managers and administrators about the risks of privilege abuse and encourage reporting of unusual activity. 7) Consider isolating or sandboxing plugins with known vulnerabilities until fully patched to limit potential damage. 8) Maintain backups of website content, including galleries, to enable rapid restoration in case of unauthorized changes.