CVE-2025-13642 in ProfilePress Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 12/09/2025
The Paid Membership Plugin, Ecommerce, User Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content – ProfilePress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 4.16.7 due to insufficient input sanitization on the `type` parameter in the form preview functionality. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to execute arbitrary shortcodes via the `pp_preview_form` endpoint.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/10/2025
The CVE-2025-13642 vulnerability affects the ProfilePress WordPress plugin, a popular solution for managing membership systems, user registration, and content restriction. This plugin serves as a comprehensive user management platform that integrates various functionalities including ecommerce capabilities, user registration forms, login mechanisms, profile management, and content restriction features. The vulnerability exists within the plugin's form preview functionality, which allows administrators and authorized users to preview forms before publishing them to the live site. The affected version range includes all releases up to and including 4.16.7, making this a widespread issue affecting numerous installations across different WordPress environments.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate input sanitization within the `pp_preview_form` endpoint, specifically targeting the `type` parameter that controls which shortcode should be executed during the preview process. When an authenticated user with Subscriber-level access or higher attempts to access this endpoint, the plugin fails to properly validate or sanitize the input provided in the `type` parameter. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary shortcode values that will be executed within the context of the WordPress environment. The vulnerability essentially creates a sandboxed execution environment where malicious shortcodes can be processed without proper authorization checks, leveraging the existing privileges of the authenticated user to perform actions within the WordPress system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary shortcodes within the WordPress environment, potentially leading to various malicious activities. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to execute shortcodes that might perform actions such as retrieving sensitive user data, modifying user permissions, injecting malicious content, or even executing remote code execution through vulnerable shortcode implementations. The attack vector requires only Subscriber-level access or higher, which is often readily available in many WordPress installations where users can register themselves or are granted basic access for legitimate business purposes. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by insiders or compromised accounts with relatively low privileges.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 (Cross-Site Scripting) and CWE-89 (SQL Injection) categories, representing a form of insecure input handling that allows for arbitrary code execution through shortcode processing. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1059.001 (Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell) and T1566 (Phishing) as attackers could use the shortcode execution to deliver malicious payloads or create phishing content. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to the patched version of the ProfilePress plugin, implementing proper input validation at the application level, and restricting access to the preview functionality for users who do not require it. Additionally, monitoring for unusual shortcode execution patterns and implementing web application firewalls can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the importance of proper input sanitization and privilege separation in WordPress plugins, particularly those handling user-generated content or preview functionality that could be leveraged for privilege escalation attacks.