# CVE-2025-14581: Missing authorization in HAPPY – Helpdesk Support Ticket System

> Authenticated subscribers can modify arbitrary support tickets by bypassing ownership checks in the HAPPY Helpdesk plugin.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3g8x-8934-xrr7

## What is CVE-2025-14581?

CVE-2025-14581 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in villatheme HAPPY – Helpdesk Support Ticket System, published on 13 Dec 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The HAPPY – Helpdesk Support Ticket System plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass due to a missing capability check on the 'submit_form_reply' AJAX action in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.9. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to submit replies to arbitrary support tickets by manipulating the 'happy_topic_id' parameter, regardless of whether they are the ticket owner or have been assigned to the ticket.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-14581?


## How do I fix CVE-2025-14581?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-14581 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-14581 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-14581 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-14581 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-14581 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in villatheme HAPPY – Helpdesk Support Ticket System, published on 13 Dec 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-14581 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: villatheme HAPPY – Helpdesk Support Ticket System. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-14581/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-14581/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-14581
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-14581
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-14581

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-14581/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.