CVE-2025-7722 is a critical privilege escalation vulnerability affecting the Social Streams plugin for WordPress, developed by steverio. This vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 1.0.1. The root cause is improper validation of user identity within the update_user_meta() function, which is responsible for updating user metadata. Specifically, the plugin fails to verify that the user requesting the update has the appropriate privileges to modify their user meta information. As a result, an authenticated attacker with as low as Subscriber-level access can exploit this flaw to escalate their privileges to that of an administrator. This elevation of privilege allows the attacker to gain full administrative control over the WordPress site, enabling actions such as installing malicious plugins, modifying site content, accessing sensitive data, and potentially pivoting to other parts of the hosting environment. The CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 reflects the high severity of this vulnerability, with an attack vector over the network, low attack complexity, requiring low privileges but no user interaction, and impacting confidentiality, integrity, and availability to a high degree. Although no public exploits have been reported in the wild yet, the vulnerability’s nature and ease of exploitation make it a significant threat to WordPress sites using this plugin.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk, especially for those relying on WordPress as a content management system with the Social Streams plugin installed. Successful exploitation can lead to full site compromise, data breaches involving personal or sensitive information protected under GDPR, defacement of websites, and disruption of business operations. Given the widespread use of WordPress across Europe for corporate, governmental, and non-profit websites, the impact could extend to reputational damage, regulatory fines, and loss of customer trust. Additionally, attackers gaining administrative access could use the compromised site as a foothold for further attacks within the organization's network or to distribute malware to site visitors. The vulnerability’s exploitation could also facilitate the spread of misinformation or unauthorized content, which is particularly sensitive in sectors like media, government, and finance prevalent in Europe.

Immediate mitigation steps include updating the Social Streams plugin to a patched version once released by the vendor. Until a patch is available, organizations should consider disabling or uninstalling the plugin to eliminate the attack vector. Implement strict access controls by limiting Subscriber-level accounts and auditing existing user roles to detect any unauthorized privilege escalations. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to monitor and block suspicious requests targeting user meta updates. Regularly review WordPress user accounts and logs for anomalous activities. Additionally, enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative accounts to reduce the impact of compromised credentials. Organizations should also maintain regular backups of their WordPress sites to enable quick restoration in case of compromise. Finally, security teams should monitor threat intelligence feeds for any emerging exploits related to this vulnerability to respond promptly.