Search Atlas SEO – Premier SEO Plugin for One-Click WP Publishing & Integrated AI Optimization 2.4.4 - 2.5.15 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Authentication Bypass via Account Takeover
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.5.16
- Affected Plugin
- Search Atlas SEO – Premier SEO Plugin for One-Click WP Publishing & Integrated AI Optimization
- Affected Version
2.4.4 – 2.5.15- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2025-14386
At a glance
CVE-2025-14386 is a high-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Search Atlas SEO WordPress plugin, affecting versions 2.4.4 – 2.5.15. 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 2.5.16; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2026, reported by kr0d.
Vulnerability Overview
The Search Atlas SEO – Premier SEO Plugin for One-Click WP Publishing & Integrated AI Optimization plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass due to a missing capability check on the 'generate_sso_url' and 'validate_sso_token' functions in versions 2.4.4 to 2.5.15. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to extract the 'nonce_token' authentication value to log in to the first Administrator's account.
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-862: Missing Authorization
Search Atlas SEO 2.4.4 – 2.5.15 carries this weakness at generate_sso_url, and reaching it 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 Search Atlas SEO the fix is 2.5.16: builds 2.4.4 – 2.5.15 are affected, anything from 2.5.16 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.5.16, 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: Search Atlas SEO 2.5.16 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Same weakness class
Other vulnerabilities in Search Atlas SEO – Premier SEO Plugin for One-Click WP Publishing & Integrated AI Optimization
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C