Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory Plugin with Classified Ads Listings <= 8.1 - Privilege Escalation and Account Takeover via Weak OTP
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 8.2
- Affected Version
<= 8.1- CVSS
- 8.1High
- Weakness type
- CWE-640 · Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password
- CVE
CVE-2025-1570
At a glance
CVE-2025-1570 is a high-severity Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password vulnerability in the Directorist WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 8.1. It carries a CVSS score of 8.1 (reachable over the network; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 8.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed February 2025, reported by wesley (wcraft).
Vulnerability Overview
The Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory Plugin with Classified Ads Listings plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation via account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 8.1. This is due to the directorist_generate_password_reset_pin_code() and reset_user_password() functions not having enough controls to prevent a successful brute force attack of the OTP to change a password, or verify that a password reset request came from an authorized user. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to generate and brute force an OTP that makes it possible to change any users passwords, including an administrator.
Technical Analysis
The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, and no privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-640: Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password
Directorist <= 8.1 carries this weakness at directorist_generate_password_reset_pin_code(), and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. A weak password recovery mechanism means the path that lets someone back into an account without their password is easier to complete than the password itself.
An attacker takes over an account through the recovery flow without ever seeing the password, and on an administrator account that is full control of the site. For Directorist the fix is 8.2: builds <= 8.1 are affected, anything from 8.2 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 8.2, 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: Directorist 8.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads
- 8.8CVE-2023-1888: Directorist Arbitrary User Password Reset
CVE-2023-1888 - 8.8CVE-2022-3930: Directorist IDOR to Arbitrary User Password Change
CVE-2022-3930 - 8.8CVE-2021-24981: Directorist <= 7.0.6.1 CSRF to Arbitrary File Upload
CVE-2021-24981 - 8.1CVE-2025-10488: Directorist Arbitrary File Move
CVE-2025-10488 - 7.5CVE-2026-59518: Directorist PHP Object Injection
CVE-2026-59518 - 7.5CVE-2022-2376: Directorist <= 7.3.0 Sensitive Information Disclosure
CVE-2022-2376 - 7.2CVE-2023-2252: Directorist <= 7.5.3 Local File Inclusion
CVE-2023-2252 - 7.2CVE-2022-2046: Directorist <= 7.2.2 Arbitrary File Upload
CVE-2022-2046
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