# CVE-2025-6754: SEO Metrics <= 1.0.15 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation

> Subscribers can escalate to administrator privileges in the SEO Metrics WordPress plugin due to missing authorization checks in AJAX handlers.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 2 Aug 2025
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-86r7-7qgg-4qfx

## What is CVE-2025-6754?

CVE-2025-6754 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in seometricsplugin SEO Metrics, published on 2 Aug 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The SEO Metrics plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation due to missing authorization checks in both the seo_metrics_handle_connect_button_click() AJAX handler and the seo_metrics_handle_custom_endpoint() function in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.15. Because the AJAX action only verifies a nonce, without checking the caller’s capabilities, a subscriber-level user can retrieve the token and then access the custom endpoint to obtain full administrator cookies.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-6754?


## How do I fix CVE-2025-6754?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-6754 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-6754 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-6754 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-6754 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-6754 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in seometricsplugin SEO Metrics, published on 2 Aug 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-2025-6754 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: seometricsplugin SEO Metrics. 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-2025-6754/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-6754/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-6754
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-6754
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-6754

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-6754/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.