CVE-2025-49289 is a security vulnerability classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) affecting the 'PDF for WPForms' add-on provided by add-ons.org. This vulnerability arises due to improperly configured access control mechanisms within the plugin, allowing users with limited privileges (PR:L - Privileges Required: Low) to perform actions or access resources beyond their authorization scope. Specifically, the flaw enables exploitation of incorrect access control security levels, potentially allowing an attacker to manipulate or alter data without proper authorization. The vulnerability affects versions up to and including 5.5.0, though exact affected versions are not fully enumerated (noted as 'n/a'). The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.0 (medium severity), with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring low privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), scope changed (S:C), no confidentiality impact (C:N), low integrity impact (I:L), and no availability impact (A:N). This means an attacker with low-level privileges can remotely exploit the vulnerability without user interaction, causing a partial loss of integrity (e.g., unauthorized modification of data or configurations) while confidentiality and availability remain unaffected. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability is significant because WPForms is a widely used WordPress form plugin, and the PDF for WPForms add-on is used to generate PDF documents from form submissions. Improper authorization could allow unauthorized users to manipulate PDF generation or access sensitive form data, undermining data integrity and trustworthiness of generated documents.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily to websites and services using WordPress with the PDF for WPForms add-on. The potential impact includes unauthorized modification of PDF outputs or form data, which could lead to misinformation, data tampering, or compliance issues, especially in sectors handling sensitive or regulated data such as finance, healthcare, and legal services. While confidentiality is not directly impacted, integrity issues can undermine business processes and customer trust. Additionally, since the vulnerability can be exploited remotely with low privileges and no user interaction, it increases the risk of automated or opportunistic attacks. Organizations relying on WPForms for customer interactions, data collection, or document generation may face reputational damage or regulatory scrutiny if manipulated data leads to incorrect decisions or breaches of data integrity requirements under GDPR. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate threat levels but does not eliminate the risk, especially as threat actors may develop exploits once the vulnerability details are public.

1. Immediate assessment of the use of PDF for WPForms add-on in WordPress environments is critical. Identify all instances and versions deployed. 2. Monitor for official patches or updates from add-ons.org and apply them promptly once available. 3. Until a patch is released, restrict access to the WordPress admin and plugin management interfaces to trusted users only, employing strong authentication and role-based access controls to limit low-privilege users from accessing or manipulating the plugin. 4. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the PDF for WPForms endpoints, especially those attempting unauthorized actions. 5. Conduct regular audits of form submission data and generated PDFs to detect anomalies or unauthorized modifications. 6. Employ WordPress security best practices such as minimizing plugin usage, keeping all components updated, and using security plugins that can detect privilege escalation or unauthorized access attempts. 7. Educate administrators and users about the risk and signs of exploitation to enable rapid detection and response. 8. Consider isolating or sandboxing the PDF generation process to limit the impact of potential exploitation on broader systems.