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.
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.39%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
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.
- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 0.39% probability · 32th percentile
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-862
- Affected
- mishubd/wp human resource management
- Source
- security@wordfence.com
References
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/hrm/tags/2.2.17/class/employee.php#L543Product
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/hrm/tags/2.2.17/class/employee.php#L591Product
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/hrm/tags/2.2.17/class/employee.php#L89Product
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/hrm/#developersRelease Notes
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3ba33a18-429f-4a3e-b018-bdfbbe6e8482?source=cveThird Party Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.