CVE-2025-6042 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management) found in the Lisfinity Core plugin, which is part of the pebas® Lisfinity WordPress theme. The core issue stems from the plugin assigning the editor role by default to users or processes without adequately restricting API usage. While the editor role has limited capabilities, the plugin fails to enforce API access restrictions, effectively allowing privilege escalation. This flaw can be exploited remotely without authentication or user interaction, as indicated by the CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N). The vulnerability can be chained with CVE-2025-6038 to escalate privileges further, potentially granting full administrative control over the WordPress site. The vulnerability affects all versions up to 1.4.0, and no official patches have been linked yet. The CVSS score of 7.3 reflects the high risk due to the ease of exploitation and the impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because WordPress is widely used, and plugins like Lisfinity Core are common in e-commerce and listing websites, making them attractive targets for attackers.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant threat to websites running the pebas® Lisfinity WordPress theme with the vulnerable Lisfinity Core plugin. Exploitation can lead to unauthorized privilege escalation, allowing attackers to gain administrative access, modify website content, steal sensitive data, or deploy malicious code. This can result in reputational damage, data breaches, and potential regulatory non-compliance under GDPR due to unauthorized data access or modification. E-commerce sites using this plugin may suffer financial losses and customer trust erosion. The vulnerability's remote and unauthenticated exploitability increases the risk of widespread attacks, especially against small and medium enterprises that may not have robust patch management or security monitoring. Additionally, the ability to chain this vulnerability with CVE-2025-6038 amplifies the risk, making it critical for affected organizations to act swiftly.

1. Immediate mitigation should involve disabling or uninstalling the Lisfinity Core plugin if feasible until a patch is available. 2. Monitor official vendor channels and WordPress plugin repositories for updates or patches addressing CVE-2025-6042 and apply them promptly. 3. Restrict API access at the web application firewall (WAF) or reverse proxy level to limit unauthorized API calls, especially those that could be used to escalate privileges. 4. Implement strict role and capability audits within WordPress to ensure no unintended privilege assignments exist. 5. Employ intrusion detection systems (IDS) and log monitoring to detect unusual API usage or privilege escalation attempts. 6. Harden WordPress installations by disabling XML-RPC if not needed and enforcing strong authentication mechanisms. 7. Educate site administrators about the risks of installing unverified plugins and the importance of timely updates. 8. Consider isolating critical WordPress instances and backing up data regularly to enable quick recovery in case of compromise.