CVE-2025-13498

Download Manager <= 3.3.32 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Media Attachment Password Disclosure

2025-12-17 00:00
type5afe

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.3.33
Affected Plugin
Download Manager
Affected Version
<= 3.3.32
CVSS
4.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2025-13498
View all Download Manager vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2025-13498 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Download Manager WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.3.32. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.3.33; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2025, reported by type5afe.

Vulnerability Overview

The Download Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of sensitive information in all versions up to, and including, 3.3.32. This is due to missing authorization and capability checks on the `wpdm_media_access` AJAX action. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to retrieve passwords and access control settings for protected media attachments, which can then be used to bypass the intended media protection and download restricted files.

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.

CWE-862: Missing Authorization

Reaching this weakness in Download Manager <= 3.3.32 takes an account at Subscriber level or above. A missing authorization check means a function is reachable by anyone who can reach the endpoint, because the code never asks whether the caller is allowed to perform the action.

Any user who can reach the endpoint gets to run an action reserved for higher-privileged roles, from reading protected data to changing settings or content. For Download Manager the fix is 3.3.33: builds <= 3.3.32 are affected, anything from 3.3.33 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.3.33, 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: Download Manager 3.3.33 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-13498https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f2cdd50d-6290-4cef-a72c-2e9d680d4f1fhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-13498

Related records

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