CVE-2025-5142: simple page access restriction vulnerability

What is known

The Simple Page Access Restriction plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.31. This is due to missing nonce validation and capability checks in the settings save handler in the settings.php script. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to (1) enable or disable access protection on all post types or taxonomies, (2) force every new page/post to be public or private, regardless of meta-box settings, (3) cause a silent wipe of all plugin data when it’s later removed, or (4) to conduct URL redirection attacks via a forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link.

Business impact

Successful exploitation of CVE-2025-5142, a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.5) affecting simple page access restriction, may affect the confidentiality, integrity or availability of the vulnerable environment. The exact impact depends on the installed version, exposed interfaces and deployment configuration.

Recommended administrator action

Confirm whether simple page access restriction is present and compare installed versions with the vendor advisory and NVD record. Apply the vendor patch or documented mitigation; until remediation is complete, reduce exposure of affected interfaces, review relevant logs and monitor for indicators of exploitation. DataHouse can support version verification, managed patching, network exposure reduction, log review and backup validation for dedicated, cloud and colocated environments.

Sources

• NVD
• Reference
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