The AI Engine WordPress plugin has been recognized as containing a critical security flaw that poses significant risks to website integrity and user data. The vulnerability, classified as CVE-2025-5071, affects versions 2.8.0 to 2.8.3 of the plugin. It arises from a missing capability check in the ‘Meow_MWAI_Labs_MCP::can_access_mcp’ function, which allows attackers with subscriber-level access or higher to escalate their privileges.
The AI Engine WordPress plugin has a critical vulnerability (CVE-2025-5071) allowing privilege escalation, impacting website integrity and user data.
This flaw permits unauthorized users to access the plugin’s Management Control Panel (MCP) interface, through which they can execute commands that create, update, or delete users, posts, comments, and site options. Over 100,000 WordPress sites using the AI Engine plugin are estimated to be impacted by this vulnerability. The implications of such unauthorized access are severe, as it can lead to site compromises, data loss, and other integrity issues. Attackers can modify or delete WordPress content, effectively jeopardizing user data and site functionality. CVSS score indicates a critical security concern, and unauthorized modifications could facilitate further attacks, including the installation of backdoors or malware on compromised sites. Additionally, users should be aware that 63 vulnerabilities remain unpatched, thus increasing their risk exposure. Zero-day vulnerabilities have historically caused catastrophic breaches when left unaddressed.
Exploitation of this flaw is straightforward. Attackers need only authenticated access with minimal privileges, and they can execute several privileged MCP commands without proper authorization verification. Commands for user and content management—including ‘wp_create_user’, ‘wp_update_user’, and ‘wp_delete_post’—can be misused for privilege escalation in a stealthy manner. The security community raised awareness of the vulnerability following its public disclosure on June 19, 2025, a few weeks after its initial revelation by Wordfence Threat Intelligence.
Site administrators are strongly advised to update the AI Engine plugin without delay upon the release of a patch. In the interim, disabling or deactivating the vulnerable plugin is recommended to mitigate the risk of exploitation. Utilizing web application firewalls, regularly monitoring site logs, and maintaining minimal user privileges can as well help in neutralizing risks associated with this serious vulnerability.
