Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
The Rank Math SEO - AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access due to a missing capability check on the update_site_editor_homepage function in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.271. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to modify several plugin settings including homepage title, meta description, breadcrumbs label, and social media metadata, which can have severe impact on SEO rankings and display malicious content across all site pages where breadcrumbs are used.
AnalysisAI
Unauthenticated modification of SEO metadata settings is possible in the Rank Math SEO WordPress plugin through version 1.0.271, stemming from a missing authorization check on the REST API function update_site_editor_homepage. Remote, unauthenticated attackers can overwrite homepage title, meta descriptions, breadcrumb labels, and social media metadata, enabling SEO poisoning campaigns and injection of malicious content into breadcrumb components rendered sitewide. No public exploit code or CISA KEV listing has been identified at time of analysis, though the attack is low-complexity and requires no authentication.
Technical ContextAI
The vulnerability is rooted in CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) within the Rank Math SEO plugin's WordPress REST API layer. The affected function update_site_editor_homepage, located in includes/rest/class-shared.php (lines 122, 129, and 339 per source references), exposes a REST endpoint that modifies plugin-managed SEO settings without verifying whether the requesting user holds appropriate WordPress capabilities. WordPress relies on capability checks (e.g., current_user_can()) to gate privileged REST endpoints; their absence here allows any unauthenticated HTTP client to invoke the function. The fix, per changeset 3552223, was applied to includes/rest/class-rest-helper.php at line 75, indicating a centralized REST helper was patched to enforce authorization. The CPE string cpe:2.3:a:rankmath:rank_math_seo_-_ai_seo_tools_to_dominate_seo_rankings:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* confirms all plugin releases up to and including 1.0.271 are affected.
RemediationAI
Update the Rank Math SEO plugin to a version beyond 1.0.271. The upstream fix was committed to the WordPress plugin repository as changeset 3552223, patching includes/rest/class-rest-helper.php to enforce capability verification on the affected REST endpoint; released patched version beyond 1.0.271 is confirmed by the changeset but the exact tagged release version was not independently verified from available data - verify via the WordPress plugin update page or https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3552223/seo-by-rank-math/trunk/includes/rest/class-rest-helper.php. If immediate patching is not possible, a compensating control is to use a WordPress firewall plugin (e.g., Wordfence) to block unauthenticated REST API requests targeting Rank Math endpoints; note this may break legitimate frontend block editor functionality dependent on those endpoints. Restricting public REST API access at the server level (e.g., blocking /wp-json/rankmath/ to non-authenticated traffic via nginx/Apache rules) is also effective but requires testing against site functionality.
The isMail transport in PHPMailer before 5.2.20 might allow remote attackers to pass extra parameters to the mail comman
The Backup Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, 1
The Hash Form - Drag & Drop Form Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file uploads due to missing fil
The GiveWP - Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all
The Simple File List plugin for WordPress through version 4.2.2 contains an unauthenticated remote code execution vulner
The AI Engine WordPress plugin through version 3.1.3 exposes Bearer Token values through the /mcp/v1/ REST API endpoint
The Ninja Forms plugin before 2.9.42.1 for WordPress allows remote attackers to conduct PHP object injection attacks via
The Business Directory Plugin - Easy Listing Directories for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to time-based
SQL injection in the NotificationX WordPress plugin (versions up to and including 2.8.2) allows unauthenticated remote a
The POST SMTP Mailer - Email log, Delivery Failure Notifications and Best Mail SMTP for WordPress plugin for WordPress i
The MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin - for Online Courses and Education plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to union base
The Country State City Dropdown CF7 plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to SQL Injection via the ‘cnt’ and 'sid' paramete
Same weakness CWE-862 – Missing Authorization
View allSame technique Authentication Bypass
View allShare
External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2025-209984
GHSA-gxcw-fm99-9f74