| Plugin Name | AI Copilot |
|---|---|
| Type of Vulnerability | Access Control Vulnerability |
| CVE Number | CVE-2025-62116 |
| Urgency | Low |
| CVE Publish Date | 2025-12-31 |
| Source URL | CVE-2025-62116 |
Broken Access Control in AI Copilot for WordPress (<= 1.4.7) — Immediate Actions for Site Owners
Author: Managed-WP Security Team
Date: 2025-12-31
Tags: WordPress, Security, Vulnerability, WAF, AI Plugin
Executive Summary: A critical access control flaw (CVE-2025-62116) has been identified in the AI Copilot WordPress plugin (versions up to 1.4.7). This vulnerability allows unauthorized users to execute actions reserved for privileged users, risking site integrity. Scored at 5.3 on CVSS v3.1, this advisory breaks down the threat, identifies affected environments, and provides step-by-step mitigation guidance — including managed virtual patching from Managed-WP — to protect your WordPress assets immediately and decisively.
Table of Contents
- Incident Overview (Summary)
- Understanding “Broken Access Control” in WordPress Plugins
- Technical Breakdown (Non-Exploitative Summary)
- Potential Attack Vectors and Impact
- Targeted Users and Environments
- How to Identify Suspicious Behavior in Your Logs
- Urgent Mitigation Actions to Implement Now
- Recommended WAF and Virtual Patching Guidelines
- System Hardening for Immediate Protection
- Long-Term Security Best Practices
- Incident Response: Step-by-Step Checklist
- How Managed-WP Accelerates Your Defense
- Getting Started Free — Managed-WP Essential Protection
- Developer and Admin Practical Guidance
- FAQs
- Closing Thoughts and Timeline Recommendations
Incident Overview (Summary)
On December 31, 2025, the security community disclosed a broken access control vulnerability in the AI Copilot plugin for WordPress (versions 1.4.7 and below), catalogued as CVE-2025-62116. This flaw permits unauthenticated users to access operations usually restricted to authenticated, high-privilege users. With a CVSS score of 5.3 (medium severity), this vulnerability poses a significant risk, especially to public-facing sites utilizing the affected plugin. At the point of disclosure, no official update was available — making timely mitigations critical.
Site owners should be aware that attackers could leverage this weakness to trigger privileged plugin actions remotely, potentially causing disruptions or data compromise. We strongly recommend immediate defensive measures to limit exposure.
Understanding “Broken Access Control” in WordPress Plugins
“Broken access control” describes security flaws where privileged operations or information are accessible without proper authorization. In WordPress plugin development, this frequently results from:
- Omission of capability checks (e.g., neglecting
current_user_can()in admin functions). - Lack of authentication requirements, exposing sensitive endpoints to anyone.
- Failure to verify WordPress nonces on AJAX or REST requests.
- Direct, unrestricted exposure of sensitive read/write plugin actions via publicly accessible routes.
Such slip-ups allow attackers to perform unauthorized modifications, neutralizing WordPress’ inherent security model.
Technical Breakdown (Non-Exploitative Summary)
This vulnerability results from API endpoints within AI Copilot accepting requests without enforcing user authentication or capability validation. Specifically:
- Plugin: AI Copilot for WordPress.
- Versions affected: All versions up to and including 1.4.7.
- Flaw type: Broken Access Control (OWASP A01/A1).
- Severity (CVSS v3.1): 5.3 (Medium).
- Privileges required: None — unauthenticated requests are accepted.
We withhold detailed exploit mechanics to prevent dissemination of attack tactics, focusing instead on defensive strategies.
Potential Attack Vectors and Impact
Attackers exploiting this issue could:
- Invoke privileged plugin operations to alter settings, trigger heavy processes, or modify content.
- Manipulate external integrations to abuse API quotas or leak usage data.
- Inject or alter site content through plugin functions.
- Launch denial-of-service conditions by repeatedly triggering resource-intensive tasks.
The actual damage depends heavily on your plugin configuration, enabled features, and existing access restrictions.
Targeted Users and Environments
- Sites running AI Copilot versions ≤ 1.4.7.
- Multisite WordPress networks with network-wide activation.
- Sites exposing admin or plugin endpoints publicly without protective controls.
- Environments lacking WAFs, IP whitelisting, or rate-limiting.
Confirm plugin versions via the WordPress Admin dashboard or authenticated vulnerability scans, prioritizing active production sites.
How to Identify Suspicious Behavior in Your Logs
Indicators include:
- Repeated POST/GET requests targeting AI Copilot’s REST API paths.
- Requests to
admin-ajax.phporadmin-post.phpwith plugin-specific actions. - Sudden spike in outgoing traffic to associated external APIs.
- Unexplained changes to plugin-related settings or content.
Tip: Enable extended logging for these endpoints and retain logs for 30+ days to aid investigations.
Urgent Mitigation Actions to Implement Now
- Place your site into maintenance mode if feasible to reduce exposure.
- Temporarily deactivate AI Copilot plugin to eliminate risk if functionality loss is acceptable.
- If full deactivation is impossible:
- Apply server-level restrictions to block unauthorized access to plugin routes.
- Deploy WAF rules that block unauthenticated requests to AI Copilot endpoints.
- Carefully review server and application logs for suspicious activity before and after mitigation.
- Reset administrative passwords and rotate API keys linked to plugin functionality as a precaution.
- Enforce least privilege principles by limiting admin users and plugin capabilities.
- Monitor traffic and logs vigilantly over the subsequent 30 days for anomalous behavior.
For complex environments, seek expert help from managed security providers or your hosting support.
Recommended WAF and Virtual Patching Guidelines
Implementing virtual patches at the Web Application Firewall layer is critical for immediate risk reduction. Key rule recommendations include:
- Block unauthenticated access to AI Copilot REST endpoints except from trusted IPs or authenticated sessions.
- Enforce nonce and capability validation for all POST requests targeting plugin-specific AJAX or REST endpoints.
- Rate-limit suspicious endpoints to prevent abuse and denial-of-service attempts.
- Filter anomalous POST payloads that deviate from expected input patterns.
- Apply CAPTCHA challenges or similar mechanisms for unauthenticated write requests.
- Restrict access to management and admin plugin interfaces by IP whitelisting where practical.
Rule Example Pseudocode:
- Rule 1: Block any unauthenticated request to
/wp-json/ai-copilot/paths. - Rule 2: Deny POST requests to
/wp-admin/admin-ajax.phpwhere action parameter equals plugin actions without valid nonce. - Rule 3: Rate-limit repeated requests from same IP within short intervals.
- Rule 4: Block requests with empty or suspicious User-Agent headers on plugin endpoints.
Test all rules in monitoring mode prior to enforcement to prevent false positives.
System Hardening for Immediate Protection
If you have access, apply these server-level protections:
- Restrict direct access to the AI Copilot plugin directory by IP allowlist using
.htaccessor server config. - Password-protect or IP-restrict
/wp-adminand/wp-login.phpareas. - Disable the plugin’s REST API endpoints wherever safely possible.
- Implement ModSecurity rules to capture and block suspicious requests to plugin endpoints.
Always test changes on a staging environment first to avoid unintended service disruptions.
Long-Term Security Best Practices
- Apply official plugin patches immediately upon release.
- Maintain regular updates of WordPress core, themes, and all plugins.
- Conduct periodic vulnerability scanning and code audits.
- Utilize a robust WAF tuned specifically for WordPress traffic.
- Enforce strict role-based access control with minimal privileges.
- Implement security headers like CSP and HSTS where feasible.
- Maintain automated backups with tested recovery procedures.
In the event of suspected breach, perform a full incident investigation and forensic analysis.
Incident Response: Step-by-Step Checklist
- Isolate: activate maintenance mode and limit network access.
- Snapshot: create full backups of server files and databases.
- Contain: deactivate vulnerable plugin and apply virtual patches and IP restrictions.
- Investigate: check logs, admin activity, and filesystem for suspicious changes.
- Remediate: clean indicators of compromise, rotate credentials, and patch software.
- Recover: restore from clean backups if necessary.
- Report: communicate incident details to stakeholders and comply with regulations as applicable.
How Managed-WP Accelerates Your Defense
Managed-WP delivers tailored security expertise and technology designed to neutralize vulnerabilities like CVE-2025-62116 before official patches are available.
- Custom Managed WAF Rules: Rapid deployment of virtual patching rules tailored to your WordPress environment.
- OWASP Top 10 Coverage: Proactive mitigation against common web application risks, including injection, broken access control, and more.
- Malware Detection: Continuous scanning for unauthorized changes or malware indicators.
- Expert Incident Guidance: Access to security professionals for remediation advice and incident triage.
- Performance Optimized: Security without sacrificing user experience or site speed.
Our managed services ensure your site is protected immediately and continuously, reducing risk and response time.
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Developer and Admin Practical Guidance
- Nonce and Capability Enforcement:
Always validate WordPress nonces and user capabilities (current_user_can()) for any request modifying site state. - API Call Restrictions:
Restrict plugin integrations to trusted endpoints and routinely rotate API credentials. - Logging and Alerting:
Instrument plugin code to log critical and admin-level actions for easier intrusion detection. - Least Privilege Principle:
Ensure plugin and user permissions are tightly scoped to reduce attack surface.
Plugin developers should incorporate automated tests ensuring authorization checks on all sensitive routes.
FAQs
- Q: Should I remove AI Copilot immediately?
- A: Deactivation is the safest short-term strategy if feasible. If continued use is mandatory, apply WAF rules and restrict access aggressively.
- Q: Has this vulnerability been exploited in the wild?
- A: No widespread exploit campaigns are confirmed at this time, but automated attacks often follow public disclosures swiftly. Treat mitigations as urgent.
- Q: Will Managed-WP’s virtual patches impact legitimate plugin use?
- A: Rules are designed for minimal disruption; testing in monitoring mode and adding trusted exceptions helps balance security and usability.
- Q: When can I remove these temporary mitigations?
- A: Remove only after official patches are applied, tested, and verified. Maintain vigilance for several weeks post-remediation.
Closing Thoughts and Timeline Recommendations
- Within 24 hours:
- Identify affected sites and either deactivate plugin or apply initial protections.
- Backup critical data.
- 1 to 7 days:
- Monitor traffic and logs for suspicious activity.
- Rotate API keys where relevant.
- Refine WAF rules to tune accuracy.
- 7 to 30 days:
- Apply and test official plugin patches upon release.
- Conduct post-incident review and strengthen security posture.
- 30+ days:
- Implement ongoing vulnerability management and managed virtual patching services to minimize future exposure.
Security is a continuous commitment. Rapid response and layered defenses are your best tools against risks like broken access control. When in doubt, seek expert assistance promptly.
— Managed-WP Security Team
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