Description

The AI Engine – The Chatbot, AI Framework & MCP for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in all versions up to, and including, 3.7.7 via the 'mediaId' parameter due to missing validation on a user controlled key. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to access and retrieve the transcribed contents of private audio attachments belonging to other users, including Administrators, via a supplied attachment ID. This vulnerability requires the Public API module to be enabled in the plugin settings; when disabled, the REST route is absent and the endpoint returns HTTP 404.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "6.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-15T07:16:31.460Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-15T07:16:31.460Z",
  "executiveSummary": "The AI Engine – The Chatbot, AI Framework & MCP for WordPress plugin, in versions up to and including 3.7.7, is susceptible to an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability. This security flaw resides within the plugin's handling of the 'mediaId' parameter via the Public API module. The vulnerability allows authenticated users with subscriber-level privileges or higher to unauthorizedly access and retrieve the transcribed contents of private audio files owned by other users, including administrative accounts.\nThe risk implication is significant as it facilitates the unauthorized disclosure of potentially sensitive information processed by the AI engine. Successful exploitation requires the Public API module to be enabled in the plugin settings. Without this module active, the REST endpoint is not registered, and the server returns a 404 Not Found error. Threat actors with minimal, low-privileged access can systematically iterate through attachment IDs to exfiltrate private transcriptions, bypassing intended access control checks.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of this vulnerability is improper access control validation within the plugin's REST API endpoint responsible for fetching audio transcriptions. Specifically, the application fails to verify whether the authenticated user requesting the transcription possesses the appropriate permissions or ownership of the requested resource identified by the 'mediaId' parameter.\nWhen the Public API module is enabled, the plugin registers a REST route that maps to a backend function handling media retrieval. This function accepts a 'mediaId' parameter from the user-controlled input without performing server-side validation to check if the current user has authorization to view the specific media object. Because the plugin relies on client-provided identifiers, an attacker can manipulate the 'mediaId' parameter to reference arbitrary audio attachments.\nThe exploitation flow begins with an authenticated attacker—possessing at least a subscriber account—identifying the target REST API endpoint. The attacker then provides a chosen 'mediaId' corresponding to a private audio attachment within the WordPress media library. Since the plugin's underlying logic does not validate the requester's relationship to the media ID or check the visibility status of the target attachment, the backend process proceeds to retrieve the associated transcription data from the database or storage layer. The server then returns the sensitive content of the transcription in the response payload to the attacker.\nThis vulnerability is present in all versions up to 3.7.7. The impact is a breach of confidentiality regarding user content processed by the AI Engine. An attacker can perform enumeration attacks by sequentially guessing or brute-forcing valid attachment IDs to exfiltrate bulk transcription data. The attack surface is limited to instances where the Public API module is explicitly enabled in the plugin configuration. The lack of capability checks or ownership verification within the endpoint's request handler enables this IDOR condition, allowing for direct object reference across unauthorized user contexts."
}