CVE-2025-5953: wp human resource Auth Bypass (CVSS 8.8)

Description

The WP Human Resource Management plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation due to missing authorization in the ajax_insert_employee() and update_empoyee() functions in versions 2.0.0 through 2.2.17. The AJAX handler reads the client-supplied $_POST['role'] and, after basic cleaning via hrm_clean(), passes it directly to wp_insert_user() and later to $user->set_role() without verifying that the current user is allowed to assign that role. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Employee-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to administrator.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

8.8

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-862 Missing Authorization

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
mishubd	wp_human_resource_management	2.0.0 — 2.2.17

References

Other References

https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/hrm/tags/2.2.17/class/employee.php#L543 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/hrm/tags/2.2.17/class/employee.php#L591 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/hrm/tags/2.2.17/class/employee.php#L89 https://wordpress.org/plugins/hrm/#developers https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3ba33a18-429f-4a3e-b018-bdfbbe6e8482?source=cve

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-5953? +

The WP Human Resource Management plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation due to missing authorization in the ajax_insert_employee() and update_empoyee() functions in versions 2.0.0 through 2.2.17. The AJAX handler reads the client-supplied $_POST['role'] and, after basic cleaning via hrm_clean(), passes it directly to wp_insert_user() and later to $user->set_role() without verifying that the current user is allowed to assign that role. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Employee-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to administrator. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2025-5953? +

CVE-2025-5953 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.8 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-5953? +

CVE-2025-5953 affects products from mishubd, specifically: wp_human_resource_management. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-5953? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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