CVE-2025-49394 identifies a missing authorization vulnerability in the bPlugins Image Gallery block, which is used to create and display photo galleries or albums on websites. The vulnerability exists because the plugin fails to properly enforce Access Control Lists (ACLs) on certain functions, allowing users with limited privileges (PR:L) to access and manipulate gallery functionalities that should be restricted. The CVSS vector (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) indicates that the attack can be performed remotely over the network without user interaction, requires low privileges, and impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability at a high level. This means an attacker with some level of authenticated access can fully compromise the gallery data, potentially uploading, modifying, or deleting images and albums, or viewing sensitive content not intended for them. The affected versions are up to 1.0.7, with no patches currently available. Although no exploits are known in the wild, the vulnerability's nature and high severity score make it a critical risk for any organization using this plugin. The lack of proper authorization checks suggests a design flaw in the plugin's security model, which could be exploited to escalate privileges or bypass intended restrictions on gallery management.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses significant risks including unauthorized disclosure of sensitive images, defacement or deletion of gallery content, and potential disruption of web services relying on the plugin. Confidentiality is severely impacted as attackers can access private photo albums. Integrity is compromised through unauthorized modification or deletion of images, which could damage organizational reputation or violate privacy regulations such as GDPR. Availability may also be affected if galleries are disrupted or deleted, impacting user experience and business operations. Organizations in sectors like media, education, government, and e-commerce that use bPlugins Image Gallery for customer or internal content management are particularly vulnerable. The ease of exploitation with low privileges and no user interaction increases the likelihood of attacks, especially in environments where user permissions are not tightly controlled. Additionally, the absence of patches means organizations must rely on compensating controls until a fix is released, increasing exposure duration.

Immediate mitigation steps include auditing and restricting user permissions to the minimum necessary, especially limiting access to the Image Gallery block functionality. Organizations should implement network segmentation and web application firewalls (WAFs) to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the vulnerable plugin endpoints. Monitoring and logging access to the gallery management functions can help identify unauthorized attempts. If possible, temporarily disabling or removing the Image Gallery block until a patch is available is recommended. Applying strict input validation and output encoding at the application level can reduce exploitation risk. Organizations should also engage with the vendor or community to obtain updates or patches as soon as they are released. Conducting a thorough security review of all plugins and third-party components to identify similar authorization weaknesses is advised. Finally, educating administrators and developers about secure access control practices will help prevent recurrence.