CVE-2025-5071

AI Engine 2.8.0 - 2.8.3 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Insufficient Authorization to Privilege Escalation via MCP

2025-06-18 00:00
István Márton

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.8.4
Affected Plugin
AI Engine – The Chatbot, AI Framework & MCP for WordPress
Affected Version
2.8.0 – 2.8.3
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-863 · Incorrect Authorization
CVE
CVE-2025-5071
View all AI Engine – The Chatbot, AI Framework & MCP for WordPress vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2025-5071 is a high-severity Incorrect Authorization vulnerability in the AI Engine WordPress plugin, affecting versions 2.8.0 – 2.8.3. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 2.8.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2025, reported by István Márton.

Vulnerability Overview

The AI Engine plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data and loss of data due to a missing capability check on the 'Meow_MWAI_Labs_MCP::can_access_mcp' function in versions 2.8.0 to 2.8.3. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to have full access to the MCP and run various commands like 'wp_create_user', 'wp_update_user' and 'wp_update_option', which can be used for privilege escalation, and 'wp_update_post', 'wp_delete_post', 'wp_update_comment' and 'wp_delete_comment', which can be used to edit and delete posts and comments.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization

AI Engine 2.8.0 – 2.8.3 carries this weakness at wp_create_user, and reaching it takes an account at Subscriber level or above. Incorrect authorization means a permission check exists but evaluates the wrong thing, so it passes for callers it was meant to stop.

The action runs for users the code intended to exclude, with the same effect as having no check at all. For AI Engine the fix is 2.8.4: builds 2.8.0 – 2.8.3 are affected, anything from 2.8.4 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.8.4, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

Because it turns on account access, WordSec's login security is the relevant layer: role-based two-factor, captcha and brute-force limits raise the cost of getting the account this needs. None of that substitutes for the fix: AI Engine 2.8.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-5071https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/0e7654a1-0020-4bf1-86be-bdb238a9fe0dhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-5071

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C