CVE-2025-58016: 
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-58016 is a Missing Authorization (Broken Access Control) vulnerability in the CF7 Submissions WordPress plugin developed by Codexpert, Inc. It affects all versions of the plugin up to and including version 0.26, allowing authenticated attackers with low privileges to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels. The vulnerability was published on September 22, 2025, and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.3 (Medium) (Red Hat CVE, Patchstack).

The root cause is classified as CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), meaning the plugin fails to properly verify whether an authenticated user has the appropriate permissions before allowing access to certain functionality or data. An attacker with a low-privilege WordPress account (e.g., a subscriber) can send crafted network requests to exploit the misconfigured access controls without requiring any user interaction. The attack vector is network-based with low complexity, making it straightforward to exploit once an attacker has any valid account on the target WordPress site (Red Hat CVE, Patchstack).

Successful exploitation results in a limited integrity impact — authenticated low-privilege users can perform unauthorized actions that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles, such as modifying or interacting with Contact Form 7 submission data. There is no direct confidentiality or availability impact based on the CVSS scoring. The scope is unchanged, meaning the impact is confined to the vulnerable component itself and does not facilitate direct lateral movement or privilege escalation to the host system (Red Hat CVE).

No public proof-of-concept exploit code or evidence of active in-the-wild exploitation has been reported for CVE-2025-58016 at this time. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. The EPSS score is approximately 0.026%, indicating a very low probability of exploitation in the near term (Red Hat CVE, Patchstack).

WordPress site administrators should update the CF7 Submissions plugin to a version beyond 0.26 that includes the authorization fix. Until a patched version is available or applied, consider deactivating the plugin or restricting site registration to prevent untrusted users from obtaining low-privilege accounts. Regularly audit WordPress user roles and plugin permissions to limit exposure from broken access control issues (Patchstack).