CVE-2025-13542: DesignThemes LMS (WordPress plugin) · Improper Privilege Management
Affects DesignThemes LMS (WordPress plugin)Source CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.8 Critical.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 15:59 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 30% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 2 Dec 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| DesignThemes DesignThemes LMS | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
Until an official fix is released, restrict access to the registration functionality or disable user registration if possible. Monitor for updates from DesignThemes regarding patches or official mitigations. Avoid using affected versions in production environments.
Description
The DesignThemes LMS plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.4. This is due to the 'dtlms_register_user_front_end' function not restricting what user roles a user can register with. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to supply the 'administrator' role during registration and gain administrator access to the site.