Password Protected <= 2.7.11 - Unauthenticated Authorization Bypass via IP Address Spoofing
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.7.12
- Affected Version
<= 2.7.11- CVSS
- 3.7Low
- Weakness type
- CWE-285 · Improper Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2025-11244
At a glance
CVE-2025-11244 is a low-severity Improper Authorization vulnerability in the Password Protected WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.7.11. It carries a CVSS score of 3.7 (reachable over the network). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.7.12; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2025, reported by Dmitrii Ignatyev.
Vulnerability Overview
The Password Protected plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass via IP address spoofing in all versions up to, and including, 2.7.11. This is due to the plugin trusting client-controlled HTTP headers (such as X-Forwarded-For, HTTP_CLIENT_IP, and similar headers) to determine user IP addresses in the `pp_get_ip_address()` function when the "Use transients" feature is enabled. This makes it possible for attackers to bypass authorization by spoofing these headers with the IP address of a legitimately authenticated user, granted the "Use transients" option is enabled (non-default configuration) and the site is not behind a CDN or reverse proxy that overwrites these headers.
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.
CWE-285: Improper Authorization
Password Protected <= 2.7.11 carries this weakness at pp_get_ip_address(), and reaching it takes no account at all. Improper authorization means a permission check exists but does not cover the case being exercised, so a caller who is allowed to do one thing is allowed to do a neighbouring thing as well.
A lower-privileged account performs an action reserved for a higher one, which on a multi-author or membership site means an ordinary user reaching administrative behaviour. For Password Protected the fix is 2.7.12: builds <= 2.7.11 are affected, anything from 2.7.12 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.7.12, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
This one needs no account at all, which puts it outside what login hardening can reach; WordSec's login security narrows the account-level paths around it, and the firewall is what inspects the request itself. None of that substitutes for the fix: Password Protected 2.7.12 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Password Protected — Lock Entire Site, Pages, Posts, Categories, and Partial Content
- 5.3CVE-2026-14943: Password Protected <= 2.8.3 Information Exposure
CVE-2026-14943 - 5.3CVE-2025-3453: Password Protected Info Exposure
CVE-2025-3453 - 4.4CVE-2024-0656: Password Protected <= 2.6.6 Stored Cross-Site Scripting
CVE-2024-0656 - 4.4CVE-2023-32580: Password Protected <= 2.6.2 Stored XSS
CVE-2023-32580 - 4.3CVE-2024-0437: Password Protected Info Exposure
CVE-2024-0437
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