CVE-2025-3761 is a privilege escalation vulnerability identified in the 'My Tickets – Accessible Event Ticketing' WordPress plugin developed by joedolson. This vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 2.0.16. The root cause lies in the mt_save_profile() function, which fails to properly restrict access controls when updating user roles. Specifically, authenticated users with Subscriber-level privileges or higher can exploit this flaw to escalate their privileges to that of an administrator. This occurs because the function does not adequately verify whether the requesting user is authorized to modify role assignments, allowing unauthorized role changes. As a result, an attacker who has any authenticated access to a WordPress site running this plugin can gain full administrative control. This can lead to complete compromise of the affected WordPress installation, including the ability to install malicious plugins, modify content, exfiltrate sensitive data, or pivot to other parts of the hosting environment. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management), highlighting the failure to enforce proper access control policies. No public exploits have been reported in the wild yet, and no official patches are currently available. The vulnerability was published on April 24, 2025, and has been enriched by CISA, indicating recognition by US cybersecurity authorities. Given the widespread use of WordPress and the popularity of event ticketing plugins, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to websites relying on this plugin for event management and ticket sales.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be substantial, especially for entities that rely on WordPress for event management, ticket sales, or customer engagement. Successful exploitation allows attackers to gain administrator privileges, which can lead to full site compromise. This includes unauthorized data access, defacement, injection of malicious code, and potential lateral movement within the hosting infrastructure. Organizations in sectors such as entertainment, cultural institutions, sports clubs, and conference organizers are particularly at risk. The compromise of ticketing systems can disrupt business operations, damage reputation, and lead to financial losses through fraud or downtime. Additionally, attackers could leverage the elevated privileges to deploy ransomware or steal personal data, potentially triggering GDPR compliance issues and heavy fines. Since the vulnerability requires only authenticated access at Subscriber level, it lowers the barrier for exploitation, as attackers may create accounts or compromise low-level user credentials to escalate privileges. The absence of a patch increases the window of exposure, and the medium severity rating suggests a moderate but tangible risk that should be addressed promptly.

1. Immediate mitigation involves restricting user registration and monitoring for suspicious account creation, especially from untrusted sources. 2. Implement strict user access policies to limit Subscriber-level accounts and regularly audit user roles for unauthorized changes. 3. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the mt_save_profile() function or role modification endpoints. 4. Monitor WordPress logs for unusual privilege escalation attempts or role changes. 5. Until an official patch is released, consider temporarily disabling or removing the 'My Tickets – Accessible Event Ticketing' plugin if feasible, or replacing it with alternative ticketing solutions with verified security. 6. Harden the WordPress environment by enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users with elevated privileges and applying the principle of least privilege. 7. Keep all other WordPress components updated to reduce the attack surface. 8. Engage in proactive threat hunting and incident response readiness to quickly detect and respond to any exploitation attempts.