Cool Author Box <= 2.9.9 - Missing Authorization
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 3.0.0
- Affected Plugin
- Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content
- Affected Version
<= 2.9.9- CVSS
- 5.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2025-30830
At a glance
CVE-2025-30830 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Cool Author Box WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.9.9. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 3.0.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2025, reported by Trương Hữu Phúc (truonghuuphuc).
Vulnerability Overview
The Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access due to a missing capability check on a function in all versions up to, and including, 2.9.9. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to perform an unauthorized action.
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 privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user.
CWE-862: Missing Authorization
Reaching this weakness in Cool Author Box <= 2.9.9 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. 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 Cool Author Box the fix is 3.0.0: builds <= 2.9.9 are affected, anything from 3.0.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 3.0.0, 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: Cool Author Box 3.0.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content
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