Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation in WordPress *Advanced Custom Fields: Extended* (CVE-2025-14533)
A critical vulnerability, CVE-2025-14533, was disclosed in the WordPress plugin Advanced Custom Fields: Extended affecting versions <= 0.9.2.1. The issue is an unauthenticated privilege escalation in the plugin’s user-form handling, where the insert_user logic does not properly restrict which roles can be assigned during registration; as a result, an attacker can submit a registration request specifying the administrator role and obtain full administrative access under certain configurations.
Reporting indicates exploitation depends on site configuration: the flaw is reachable when a form is set up such that the role value is mapped to a custom field / user role field is present in the form. The weakness was identified by Andrea Bocchetti via the Wordfence Bug Bounty Program, and is associated with CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management); once admin access is obtained, attackers can fully compromise the site (e.g., upload malicious plugins/themes, plant backdoors, or alter content for redirects).
Timeline
Jan 21, 2026
Follow-up reporting cites evidence of active exploitation risk
Subsequent coverage on January 21, 2026 said there was evidence of active exploitation or heightened attacker interest around the flaw, while continuing to urge immediate updates or plugin disablement where patching was not possible. Other reports remained more cautious, noting no direct exploitation of CVE-2025-14533 had been observed.
Jan 21, 2026
Reports highlight patch adoption gap among ACF Extended sites
Follow-up coverage said many sites remained exposed despite the fix, with estimates suggesting nearly half of the plugin's roughly 100,000 sites could still be vulnerable. One report noted about 50,000 downloads after the patch, implying a substantial number of installations may still be running older versions.
Jan 20, 2026
Wordfence/CVE records publish technical details and affected conditions
On the same day as disclosure, vulnerability records and advisories documented that the flaw stems from insufficient permission validation in the plugin's insert_user logic and is exploitable only when a public Create User or Update User form maps the role parameter. The CVE entry also recorded receipt by security@wordfence.com and linked technical references.
Jan 20, 2026
CVE-2025-14533 is publicly disclosed as critical ACF Extended bug
Public reporting disclosed CVE-2025-14533, a critical 9.8-severity vulnerability in ACF Extended versions up to 0.9.2.1 that can let unauthenticated attackers create administrator accounts when vulnerable forms expose a mapped role field. Advisories warned that successful exploitation could lead to full WordPress site compromise.
Dec 14, 2025
Vendor patches CVE-2025-14533 in ACF Extended 0.9.2.2
The ACF Extended vendor fixed the unauthenticated privilege-escalation flaw in version 0.9.2.2. Multiple reports state the patch was released four days after disclosure to Wordfence, addressing missing server-side enforcement of role restrictions in user form handling.
Dec 10, 2025
Researcher reports ACF Extended flaw to Wordfence
Security researcher Andrea Bocchetti reported the ACF Extended privilege-escalation vulnerability to Wordfence. BleepingComputer says the report was submitted on December 10, 2025 through the Wordfence Bug Bounty Program.
Oct 25, 2025
GreyNoise observes broad WordPress plugin reconnaissance activity
GreyNoise reported widespread WordPress plugin enumeration activity occurring from late October 2025 through mid-January 2026. The activity was described as broad reconnaissance across plugins rather than confirmed exploitation of CVE-2025-14533 specifically.
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