CVE-2025-13859VulnerabilityPublished 15 Jan 2026

CVE-2025-13859: AffiliateX (WordPress plugin) · Missing Authorization

Affects AffiliateX (WordPress plugin)Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.4 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.4Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 9% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 15 Jan 2026
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 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
wpcenterAffiliateX – Amazon Affiliate Plugin	Affected >=1.0.0 <=1.3.9.3	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should immediately restrict Subscriber-level users from accessing customization settings related to AffiliateX blocks until a patch is available. Implement strict role-based access controls (RBAC) to limit the ability to invoke the save_customization_settings AJAX action. Monitor and audit user activities for suspicious behavior involving AffiliateX settings. If possible, disable or remove the AffiliateX plugin temporarily to eliminate the attack vector. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block unauthorized AJAX requests targeting this action. Keep WordPress core and all plugins updated, and subscribe to vendor advisories for patch releases. Additionally, conduct code reviews and penetration testing focused on plugin AJAX endpoints to identify similar authorization issues proactively. Educate site administrators and users about the risks of unauthorized script injection and the importance of least privilege principles.

Description

The AffiliateX – Amazon Affiliate Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the save_customization_settings AJAX action in versions 1.0.0 to 1.3.9.3. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to store arbitrary JavaScript that executes whenever an AffiliateX block renders on the site.

Impact

The primary impact of this vulnerability is on the confidentiality and integrity of affected WordPress sites. Attackers can inject arbitrary JavaScript, potentially leading to session hijacking, theft of sensitive user data, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of other users. Since the malicious script executes in the context of the site, it can also affect visitors, leading to broader reputational damage and loss of user trust. Although availability is not directly impacted, the indirect consequences such as defacement or blacklisting by search engines can disrupt normal operations. Organizations with multi-user WordPress environments where users have Subscriber or higher roles are particularly at risk. The vulnerability could be exploited to escalate privileges or facilitate further attacks within the site or network. Given the widespread use of WordPress and the popularity of affiliate marketing plugins, the potential attack surface is significant, especially for e-commerce and content-driven sites relying on AffiliateX for Amazon affiliate integration.

CWE-862Missing Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #4OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Exploitation of Thunderbolt Protection Flaws (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Feb 2026, 10:24 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-862

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats