CVE-2025-31843: broken access control on AI

CISO Take

WordPress sites running OpenAI Tools for WooCommerce (≤2.1.5) allow any authenticated user to invoke AI admin functions reserved for privileged roles. Update immediately and rotate your OpenAI API key as a precaution. Review OpenAI API usage logs for anomalous call volumes that may indicate prior exploitation or API credit abuse.

What is the risk?

Medium risk in isolation, elevated in AI context. Any authenticated WordPress user—a registered WooCommerce customer with subscriber role—can exploit this to interact with OpenAI API endpoints or modify AI tool settings without admin privileges. Real-world risk includes API credit exhaustion and unauthorized manipulation of AI-driven e-commerce features. Not in CISA KEV; no public evidence of active exploitation, but low-skill barrier makes opportunistic abuse likely.

How severe is it?

CVSS 3.1

4.3 / 10

EPSS

0.3%

chance of exploitation in 30 days

Higher than 26% of all CVEs

Source: EPSS v3 — FIRST.org

Exploitation Status

No known exploitation

Sophistication

Trivial

What is the attack surface?

AV Network

AC Low

PR Low

UI None

S Unchanged

C None

I Low

A None

What should I do?

5 steps

Update OpenAI Tools for WordPress & WooCommerce to the latest patched version (>2.1.5) immediately—patch available via WordPress plugin repository.
If patching is delayed, restrict plugin functionality to admin roles via a WAF rule or capability filter hook.
Rotate your OpenAI API key and configure usage limits and spend alerts in the OpenAI dashboard.
Audit WordPress user roles and remove unnecessary accounts, especially in WooCommerce customer pools.
Review OpenAI API usage logs for the exposure window to detect anomalous call patterns.

What does CISA's SSVC say?

Decision Track

Exploitation none

Automatable No

Technical Impact partial

Source: CISA Vulnrichment (SSVC v2.0). Decision based on the CISA Coordinator decision tree.

How is it classified?

Auth Bypass DoS Plugin API AML.T0034 - Cost Harvesting AML.T0040 - AI Model Inference API Access AML.T0049 - Exploit Public-Facing Application

Which compliance frameworks are affected?

This CVE is relevant to:

EU AI Act

Article 15 - Accuracy, robustness and cybersecurity

ISO 42001

A.6.1 - Policies for information security

NIST AI RMF

GOVERN 1.2 - Accountability structures are in place so that the appropriate teams and individuals are empowered, responsible, and trained for mapping, measuring, and managing AI risks

OWASP LLM Top 10

LLM06 - Excessive Agency

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-31843?

WordPress sites running OpenAI Tools for WooCommerce (≤2.1.5) allow any authenticated user to invoke AI admin functions reserved for privileged roles. Update immediately and rotate your OpenAI API key as a precaution. Review OpenAI API usage logs for anomalous call volumes that may indicate prior exploitation or API credit abuse.

Is CVE-2025-31843 actively exploited?

No confirmed active exploitation of CVE-2025-31843 has been reported, but organizations should still patch proactively.

How to fix CVE-2025-31843?

1. Update OpenAI Tools for WordPress & WooCommerce to the latest patched version (>2.1.5) immediately—patch available via WordPress plugin repository. 2. If patching is delayed, restrict plugin functionality to admin roles via a WAF rule or capability filter hook. 3. Rotate your OpenAI API key and configure usage limits and spend alerts in the OpenAI dashboard. 4. Audit WordPress user roles and remove unnecessary accounts, especially in WooCommerce customer pools. 5. Review OpenAI API usage logs for the exposure window to detect anomalous call patterns.

What systems are affected by CVE-2025-31843?

This vulnerability affects the following AI/ML architecture patterns: LLM API integrations, WordPress AI plugins, E-commerce AI automation.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-31843?

CVE-2025-31843 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.3 (MEDIUM). The EPSS exploitation probability is 0.35%.

What is the AI security impact?

Affected AI Architectures

LLM API integrationsWordPress AI pluginsE-commerce AI automation

MITRE ATLAS Techniques

AML.T0034 Cost Harvesting

AML.T0040 AI Model Inference API Access

AML.T0049 Exploit Public-Facing Application

Compliance Controls Affected

EU AI Act: Article 15

ISO 42001: A.6.1

NIST AI RMF: GOVERN 1.2

OWASP LLM Top 10: LLM06

What are the technical details?

Original Advisory

Missing Authorization vulnerability in Wilson OpenAI Tools for WordPress & WooCommerce allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels. This issue affects OpenAI Tools for WordPress & WooCommerce: from n/a through 2.1.5.

Exploitation Scenario

An adversary registers or compromises a low-privilege WooCommerce customer account on a target WordPress site. They send crafted HTTP POST requests to plugin AJAX endpoints that lack capability checks, invoking OpenAI API calls or modifying AI configuration settings without admin authorization. Attack requires no special tooling—standard browser dev tools or Burp Suite suffice. Adversary can exhaust OpenAI API credits (financial harm to the site owner), exfiltrate API key configuration, or inject manipulated AI-generated content into product listings at scale.

Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-862 Missing Authorization

CWE-862 — Missing Authorization: The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.

[Architecture and Design] Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) [REF-229] to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries. Note that this approach may not protect against horizontal authorization, i.e., it will not protect a user from attacking others with the same role.
[Architecture and Design] Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records. For example, a database may restrict access for medical records to a specific database user, but each record might only be intended to be accessible to the patient and the patient's doctor [REF-7].

Source: MITRE CWE corpus.