CVE-2025-69349: 
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-69349 is a Missing Authorization (Broken Access Control) vulnerability in the RSS Feed Widget WordPress plugin developed by Fahad Mahmood. It affects all versions of the plugin through 3.0.2, allowing authenticated attackers with low privileges (Subscriber-level) to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels. The vulnerability was reported on December 8, 2025, by researcher Nabil Irawan and published by Patchstack on January 6–7, 2026. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.4 (Medium), assigned by Patchstack (Patchstack, NVD).

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), meaning the plugin fails to properly verify whether an authenticated user has the appropriate permissions before executing certain privileged actions. A low-privileged authenticated user (e.g., a Subscriber) can invoke plugin functionality that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles, such as administrators. This is a common pattern in WordPress plugins where REST API endpoints or AJAX handlers lack proper capability checks or nonce validation. No public proof-of-concept code has been identified at this time (Patchstack, NVD).

Successful exploitation allows a low-privileged authenticated attacker to perform unauthorized actions within the plugin, resulting in limited integrity and availability impacts (CVSS: I:L, A:L) with no direct confidentiality impact. An attacker with at least Subscriber-level access to a WordPress site running the vulnerable plugin could manipulate plugin settings or disrupt its functionality. The scope is limited to the affected plugin and does not directly enable remote code execution or lateral movement, making the overall risk low to moderate for most deployments (Patchstack).

No public exploit code or active in-the-wild exploitation has been reported for CVE-2025-69349. The EPSS score is approximately 0.025% (0.000250), indicating a very low probability of exploitation in the near term. The vulnerability requires authenticated access (Subscriber role or higher), which limits opportunistic exploitation. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Patchstack notes that vulnerabilities of this class are sometimes used in mass-exploit campaigns targeting WordPress sites at scale, regardless of site popularity (Patchstack, NVD).

The vulnerability is patched in RSS Feed Widget version 3.0.3. Site administrators should update the plugin to version 3.0.3 or later immediately. If an immediate update is not possible, consider temporarily deactivating the plugin or restricting user registration to prevent untrusted users from obtaining Subscriber-level accounts. Patchstack users can enable auto-update for vulnerable plugins as an additional safeguard (Patchstack).

The vulnerability was discovered by security researcher Nabil Irawan and disclosed through Patchstack's coordinated vulnerability disclosure program. Patchstack classified it as low priority with no impactful threat, and the NVD noted it is not being prioritized for enrichment efforts due to resource constraints. No significant broader media coverage or notable researcher commentary beyond the Patchstack advisory has been identified (Patchstack, NVD).