CVE-2025-13542 DesignThemes LMS <= 1.0.4 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation
Unauthenticated attackers can register as administrators due to missing role restrictions in the DesignThemes LMS plugin.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2025-13542?
CVE-2025-13542 is a critical vulnerability in DesignThemes LMS, published on 2 Dec 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The DesignThemes LMS plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.4. This is due to the 'dtlms_register_user_front_end' function not restricting what user roles a user can register with. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to supply the 'administrator' role during registration and gain administrator access to the site.
Weakness: CWE-269
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-13542?
How do I fix CVE-2025-13542?
No fix has been published for CVE-2025-13542 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2025-13542 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-13542 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as CVE-2025-13398, GHSA-x53g-m6wg-v339.