CVE-2025-14392 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) found in the Simple Theme Changer plugin for WordPress developed by darendev. The issue stems from the absence of proper capability checks on three critical actions: user_theme_admin, display_method_admin, and set_change_theme_button_name. These actions control the modification of the plugin’s settings, and without authorization enforcement, any authenticated user with subscriber-level privileges or above can alter these settings. Since WordPress subscriber roles typically have minimal permissions, this vulnerability effectively escalates their ability to manipulate plugin configurations, potentially leading to unauthorized theme changes or other malicious modifications. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 1.0 of the plugin. The CVSS v3.1 score is 4.3 (medium severity), reflecting that the attack vector is network-based, requires low privileges, no user interaction, and impacts integrity but not confidentiality or availability. No patches are currently linked, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild. The vulnerability could be leveraged as a stepping stone for further attacks, such as persistent defacement or privilege escalation, especially if combined with other weaknesses in the WordPress environment.

For European organizations, the primary impact is the unauthorized modification of plugin settings, which compromises the integrity of the affected WordPress sites. This could lead to unauthorized theme changes, potentially resulting in website defacement, brand damage, or the insertion of malicious content. Although the vulnerability does not directly expose sensitive data or cause denial of service, altered plugin settings might be used as a foothold for further exploitation, including privilege escalation or deployment of malicious payloads. Organizations relying on WordPress for their public-facing websites, especially small and medium enterprises that commonly use free or low-cost plugins like Simple Theme Changer, are at risk. The impact is heightened in sectors where website integrity is critical, such as e-commerce, media, and government portals. Given the ease of exploitation by low-privileged authenticated users, insider threats or compromised subscriber accounts could be leveraged to exploit this vulnerability.

1. Immediately restrict subscriber-level user capabilities by reviewing and hardening WordPress user roles and permissions to limit access to plugin settings. 2. Monitor and audit changes to plugin configurations regularly to detect unauthorized modifications promptly. 3. Disable or remove the Simple Theme Changer plugin if it is not essential to reduce the attack surface. 4. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the vulnerable plugin actions. 5. Keep WordPress core, themes, and plugins updated; monitor darendev’s official channels for patches or updates addressing this vulnerability. 6. Employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all authenticated users to reduce the risk of compromised subscriber accounts. 7. Conduct periodic security assessments and penetration testing focused on WordPress installations to identify and remediate similar authorization issues.