Simple Local Avatars <= 2.8.4 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Avatar Migration
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.8.5
- Affected Plugin
- Simple Local Avatars
- Affected Version
<= 2.8.4- CVSS
- 4.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2025-8482
At a glance
CVE-2025-8482 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Simple Local Avatars WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.8.4. 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 2.8.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2025, reported by Håkon Harnes.
Vulnerability Overview
The Simple Local Avatars plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data in version 2.8.4. This is due to a missing capability check on the migrate_from_wp_user_avatar() function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to migrate avatar metadata for all users.
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
Simple Local Avatars <= 2.8.4 carries this weakness at migrate_from_wp_user_avatar(), 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 Simple Local Avatars the fix is 2.8.5: builds <= 2.8.4 are affected, anything from 2.8.5 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.8.5, 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: Simple Local Avatars 2.8.5 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 Simple Local Avatars
- 8.1CVE-2022-25860: simple-git < 3.16.0 Remote Code Execution
CVE-2022-25860 - 5.3CVE-2022-25881: http-cache-semantics Regular Expression DoS (ReDoS)
CVE-2022-25881 - 4.3CVE-2024-43116: Simple Local Avatars <= 2.7.10 CSRF
CVE-2024-43116 - 3.7CVE-2022-25858: terser (JS Package) < 5.14.2 Denial of Service
CVE-2022-25858
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