CVE-2025-2290 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) found in the LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes plugin for WordPress. The issue arises because the delete_access_plan function and its associated AJAX endpoints lack proper capability checks, allowing unauthenticated users to invoke these functions. This missing authorization enables attackers to change the status of any published post to "Trash" without requiring authentication or user interaction. The vulnerability affects all versions of LifterLMS up to and including version 8.0.1. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.3 (medium severity), with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), no confidentiality impact (C:N), limited integrity impact (I:L), and no availability impact (A:N). Although the availability impact is marked as none in CVSS, the practical effect of trashing published posts can disrupt content availability for end users. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the vulnerability is straightforward to exploit remotely. The root cause is the absence of authorization checks on sensitive content management functions, a common security oversight in WordPress plugins. This flaw could be leveraged to degrade the availability of eLearning content, affecting educational institutions and businesses using LifterLMS for course delivery.

The primary impact of CVE-2025-2290 is on the availability and integrity of published content within LifterLMS-powered WordPress sites. Attackers can trash published posts, effectively removing access to course materials, quizzes, and other educational content, which can disrupt learning activities and damage the reputation of the affected organization. Although the CVSS score indicates no direct availability impact, the functional effect is a denial of access to critical content. This can lead to operational downtime, loss of user trust, and potential financial losses for eLearning providers. Since the vulnerability requires no authentication and no user interaction, it can be exploited by any remote attacker scanning for vulnerable sites. Organizations relying heavily on LifterLMS for online education, membership sites, or training portals are at risk of service disruption. Additionally, the attack could be used as part of a broader campaign to undermine educational platforms or cause reputational harm. The lack of known exploits in the wild suggests limited current exploitation but also indicates a window for proactive mitigation before widespread abuse occurs.

To mitigate CVE-2025-2290, organizations should immediately update the LifterLMS plugin to a patched version once released by the vendor. Until an official patch is available, administrators should implement the following specific measures: 1) Manually audit and restrict access to AJAX endpoints related to delete_access_plan by limiting them to authenticated users with appropriate capabilities; 2) Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to block unauthenticated requests attempting to invoke these sensitive AJAX actions; 3) Harden WordPress security by disabling unnecessary REST API endpoints or restricting them to authenticated users; 4) Monitor logs for suspicious POST requests targeting content deletion functions; 5) Regularly back up site content to enable rapid restoration if posts are trashed maliciously; 6) Educate site administrators about the importance of plugin updates and security best practices. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on controlling access to the vulnerable functions and detecting exploitation attempts.