Goodlayers Core < 2.1.7 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Privilege Escalation
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.1.7
- Affected Plugin
- Goodlayers Core
- Affected Version
< 2.1.7- CVSS
- 4.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
- CVE
CVE-2025-59580
At a glance
CVE-2025-59580 is a medium-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the Goodlayers Core WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 2.1.7. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Contributor level or above. The issue is fixed in version 2.1.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2025, reported by Bonds.
Vulnerability Overview
The Goodlayers Core plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to 2.1.7 (exclusive). This is due to the plugin not properly restricting what roles a user can register with. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to gain administrative access to the site.
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-269: Improper Privilege Management
Reaching this weakness in Goodlayers Core < 2.1.7 takes an account at Contributor level or above. Improper privilege management means the code lets an account end up with capabilities its role should not have.
It converts a low-privileged account into an administrative one, which makes every other restriction on the site irrelevant. For Goodlayers Core the fix is 2.1.7: builds < 2.1.7 are affected, anything from 2.1.7 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.1.7, 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: Goodlayers Core 2.1.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
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