CVE-2025-53421 identifies a missing authorization vulnerability in the PickPlugins Accordion WordPress plugin, affecting versions up to and including 2.3.14. The root cause is an incorrectly configured access control mechanism that fails to properly enforce security levels, allowing users with low privileges (PR:L) to perform actions or access data that should be restricted. The vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network (AV:N) without requiring user interaction (UI:N), which increases its risk profile. The impact includes limited confidentiality, integrity, and availability losses (C:L/I:L/A:L), meaning attackers could potentially view or modify restricted content or disrupt functionality within the scope of the plugin. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability's presence in a popular WordPress plugin component used for accordion-style content display makes it a notable risk for websites relying on this plugin. The absence of patches at the time of publication necessitates immediate attention to access control configurations and monitoring. The vulnerability was reserved in June 2025 and published in October 2025, indicating recent discovery and disclosure. The CVSS vector and score of 6.3 classify it as medium severity, reflecting moderate impact and exploitability. Organizations should be aware that exploitation requires at least low privilege access, so initial compromise or legitimate low-level user accounts could be leveraged to escalate access improperly within the plugin's scope.

For European organizations, the vulnerability poses a risk primarily to websites and web applications using the PickPlugins Accordion plugin, which is common in WordPress environments. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure or modification of content managed by the accordion component, potentially exposing sensitive information or defacing web pages. This could harm organizational reputation, lead to data privacy issues under GDPR, and disrupt user experience. Since the vulnerability requires low privilege access, attackers might exploit compromised or weak user accounts to escalate privileges within the plugin. The impact on availability is limited but could affect specific site functionalities. Organizations in sectors with high regulatory scrutiny or public-facing websites, such as government, finance, and healthcare, may face increased risks. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate threat but does not eliminate the risk of future attacks. Prompt mitigation is essential to prevent exploitation and maintain compliance with European data protection standards.

1. Monitor PickPlugins official channels for security patches and apply updates to Accordion plugin versions beyond 2.3.14 as soon as they are released. 2. Conduct a thorough audit of access control settings within the plugin and the broader WordPress environment to ensure that user roles and permissions are correctly configured and enforced. 3. Restrict low privilege user capabilities where possible, minimizing the attack surface for privilege escalation. 4. Implement web application firewalls (WAF) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the Accordion plugin endpoints. 5. Enable detailed logging and monitoring of user activities related to the plugin to detect anomalous behavior early. 6. Educate site administrators and developers about the risks of misconfigured access controls and encourage secure coding and configuration practices. 7. Consider isolating or disabling the Accordion plugin if it is not essential, reducing exposure until a patch is available. 8. Regularly review user accounts and remove or disable inactive or unnecessary accounts to limit potential exploitation vectors.