CVE-2025-7499 is a security vulnerability identified in the WordPress plugin 'BetterDocs – Advanced AI-Driven Documentation, FAQ & Knowledge Base Tool for Elementor & Gutenberg with Encyclopedia, AI Support, Instant Answers,' developed by wpdevteam. The vulnerability stems from a missing authorization check in the plugin's get_response function across all versions up to and including 4.1.1. This flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass access controls and retrieve sensitive information without any user authentication or interaction. Specifically, attackers can access passwords protecting password-protected documents and metadata associated with private and draft documents. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), indicating that the plugin fails to verify whether a user has the necessary permissions before granting access to sensitive data. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.3 (medium severity), reflecting that the vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network without authentication or user interaction, but the impact is limited to confidentiality loss without affecting integrity or availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability could be leveraged to expose confidential documentation, internal knowledge bases, or draft content that organizations rely on for internal communications and operations, potentially leading to information disclosure and privacy violations.

For European organizations using the BetterDocs plugin, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily related to confidentiality breaches. Sensitive internal documents, including password-protected content and unpublished drafts, could be exposed to unauthorized parties. This exposure could lead to leakage of proprietary information, internal procedures, or strategic plans, which may undermine competitive advantage or violate data protection regulations such as the GDPR. Since the vulnerability does not affect data integrity or system availability, the operational disruption risk is low. However, the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information can have legal and reputational consequences, especially for organizations handling sensitive or regulated data. The fact that no authentication or user interaction is required increases the risk of automated scanning and exploitation attempts. Organizations relying heavily on WordPress-based documentation and knowledge management systems, particularly those integrating Elementor or Gutenberg editors, should be vigilant. The absence of a patch at the time of this report necessitates immediate risk mitigation to prevent potential data leaks.

European organizations should undertake the following specific mitigation steps: 1) Immediately audit all WordPress sites using the BetterDocs plugin to identify affected versions (up to 4.1.1). 2) Temporarily disable or restrict access to the BetterDocs plugin until an official patch or update is released by wpdevteam. 3) Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block or monitor requests targeting the get_response function or suspicious API calls that could exploit this vulnerability. 4) Restrict access to the WordPress admin and plugin endpoints by IP whitelisting or VPN access to reduce exposure. 5) Review and tighten WordPress user roles and permissions to minimize unnecessary access to documentation content. 6) Monitor logs for unusual access patterns or attempts to retrieve protected documents. 7) Prepare to apply vendor patches promptly once available and test updates in a staging environment before deployment. 8) Consider alternative documentation plugins with robust authorization controls if immediate patching is not feasible. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control hardening, monitoring, and temporary containment strategies tailored to this specific vulnerability.