CVE-2025-14481

Yoast SEO <= 26.5 - Insecure Direct Object Reference to Authenticated (Contributor+) Sensitive Information Exposure via 'post_id' Parameter

2026-05-26 15:59
NumeX

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 26.6
Affected Plugin
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI
Affected Version
<= 26.5
CVSS
4.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2025-14481
View all Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2025-14481 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Yoast SEO WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 26.5. 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 26.6; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2026, reported by NumeX.

Vulnerability Overview

The Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object References in all versions up to, and including, 26.5. This is due to insufficient authorization checks in the Meta Search REST API endpoint that fail to verify post ownership. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to read sensitive SEO metadata from any post on the site via the 'post_id' parameter, including posts owned by other users, private posts, and draft posts.

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

Yoast SEO <= 26.5 carries this weakness at post_id, and reaching it takes an account at Contributor 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 Yoast SEO the fix is 26.6: builds <= 26.5 are affected, anything from 26.6 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 26.6, 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: Yoast SEO 26.6 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-14481https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/04b2123d-ae0c-4984-95f5-7040f8604c92https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-14481

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C