Description

Unauthenticated Broken Access Control in AI for SEO <= 2.4.2 versions.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "6.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-13T14:17:06.973Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-13T14:17:06.973Z",
  "executiveSummary": "An unauthenticated broken access control vulnerability has been identified in the AI for SEO plugin for versions <= 2.4.2. This security flaw exposes affected systems to unauthorized interactions and potential data manipulation without requiring prior authentication or valid session credentials.\nThe vulnerability arises from missing or improperly implemented authorization checks on critical application endpoints or functions within the plugin. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this weakness by sending specially crafted requests directly to the vulnerable component over the network.\nSuccessful exploitation of this flaw allows malicious actors to bypass security boundaries, potentially executing administrative-level functions, modifying search engine optimization configurations, or injecting arbitrary data depending on the underlying exposed capabilities of the plugin.\nThe risk implication is high, as the lack of authentication requirements lowers the barrier for exploitation, enabling automated scanning and mass exploitation campaigns against vulnerable WordPress installations utilizing the affected versions.\nOrganizations running AI for SEO <= 2.4.2 are strongly advised to restrict external access to vulnerable endpoints and apply vendor-supplied patches immediately upon availability to mitigate the associated risks.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability is classified as an unauthenticated broken access control flaw residing within the AI for SEO product, specifically affecting versions <= 2.4.2.\nThe root cause of the issue stems from a failure in the application's access control mechanisms, where sensitive controller methods, AJAX handlers, or REST API endpoints lack proper authentication checks and role-based authorization validation prior to processing incoming requests.\nThe vulnerable component handles backend functionality related to the plugin's core operations, exposing administrative or privileged routines to arbitrary network callers.\nAttack requirements are minimal: the target system must be running an affected version of AI for SEO, and the vulnerable endpoint must be reachable over the network via HTTP or HTTPS requests. No credentials, session cookies, or elevated privileges are required to initiate the attack.\nThe step-by-step attack flow proceeds as follows: First, an unauthenticated attacker identifies the target URL of the exposed functionality within the AI for SEO plugin through source code analysis, vulnerability intelligence, or automated directory enumeration. Second, the attacker crafts a malicious HTTP request targeting the specific function or endpoint associated with the broken access control flaw. Third, because the underlying code fails to verify the identity or privilege level of the sender, the application processes the payload and executes the requested functionality as if it originated from an authorized administrator. Finally, the attacker achieves unauthorized state changes, data exfiltration, or setting modifications depending on the targeted function.\nThe payload behavior involves interacting directly with unprotected backend logic, bypassing frontend restrictions, and abusing exposed plugin features to perform actions outside the intended security context.\nThe post-exploitation impact includes unauthorized modification of plugin configurations, potential insertion of malicious content into SEO metadata, degradation of site integrity, and broader compromise of the underlying application environment if the exposed functions permit further server-side interactions or file handling."
}