A missing capability check vulnerability affects the My Sticky Elements plugin for WordPress. Tracked as CVE-2025-14428 with a CVSS score of 4.3 (Medium), this flaw allows unauthorized data deletion. It affects the All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs plugin. My Sticky Elements has over 20,000 active installations. It is one of the most popular WordPress plugins for adding sticky floating elements to websites.
My Sticky Elements lets site owners create sticky floating elements that remain visible as users scroll through the page. These elements include contact forms, click-to-call buttons, WhatsApp chat buttons, social media icon tabs, newsletter signup forms, custom call-to-action buttons, and promotional banners. The plugin is widely used by e-commerce stores, service businesses, and content sites. They want to keep important conversion elements always visible without taking up permanent page space. You can configure the sticky elements to appear on specific pages, for specific user roles, or at specific scroll positions. This makes them highly versatile for conversion optimization.
The vulnerability surfaced during a security audit of plugins that handle user-submitted data and configuration management. Missing capability checks are particularly dangerous in plugins that manage stored data. They allow low-privileged users to perform administrative actions. In the case of My Sticky Elements, the plugin fails to verify that the user initiating a data deletion operation has the appropriate WordPress capabilities, such as manage_options or edit_others_posts.
CVE-2025-14428 My Sticky Elements XSS: The Vulnerability in Detail
The My Sticky Elements plugin fails to perform proper capability checks before allowing data deletion operations. An authenticated attacker (Admin Activity Logging guide) with minimal privileges can delete plugin data that should require higher-level permissions. The missing capability check means that users with subscriber-level access (or any authenticated role) can trigger data deletion endpoints without authorization.
The vulnerable code path involves an AJAX handler that processes deletion requests. In WordPress, AJAX handlers commonly perform asynchronous operations without requiring a full page reload. The standard practice for securing AJAX handlers that perform sensitive operations includes a capability check using current_user_can() at the beginning of the handler function. My Sticky Elements registers the AJAX action and processes the deletion request but omits the capability verification step.
What makes this vulnerability exploitable is that the AJAX action registers with the wp_ajax_ hook (for authenticated users) and the wp_ajax_nopriv_ hook is not present. This limits exploitation to authenticated users. However, since WordPress allows anyone to register an account on most sites, a determined attacker can simply create a subscriber account and exploit the vulnerability. The low privilege requirement combined with the ease of obtaining a valid account makes this a practical attack vector.
The attacker crafts an AJAX request targeting the vulnerable deletion endpoint. The request includes the identifier of the data to delete. Since there is no capability check, the server processes the deletion request regardless of the user’s role. The attacker can delete sticky element configurations, contact form submissions, tracking data, and other plugin-specific stored information. The deletion is immediate and, depending on the plugin’s design, may not be easily reversible without a database restore.
CVE-2025-14428 My Sticky Elements XSS: Impact and CVSS Breakdown
- CVSS Score: 4.3 (Medium)
- Attack Vector: Network
- Attack Complexity: Low
- Privileges Required: Low
- User Interaction: None
- Scope: Unchanged
- Confidentiality Impact: None (data is deleted, not exposed)
- Integrity Impact: Low (limited to deletion of plugin data)
- Availability Impact: None
- Affected Versions: My Sticky Elements plugin for WordPress
The CVSS score of 4.3 reflects the medium severity of this vulnerability. While the impact is limited to data deletion rather than data theft or privilege escalation, the practical consequences can be significant. If an attacker deletes all sticky element configurations, the site loses its carefully designed conversion elements. This potentially impacts lead generation and sales. If contact form submissions stored by the plugin are deleted, the site loses customer inquiries and potential business opportunities.
The integrity impact is rated Low because the attacker can only delete data, not modify it or create new privileged content. However, data loss can still be disruptive. For businesses relying on sticky contact forms and click-to-chat buttons for customer acquisition, losing these elements means losing conversion pathways. These pathways may have been optimized over months or years.
Missing Capability Checks: A Common WordPress Vulnerability
Missing capability checks are one of the most frequent WordPress plugin vulnerabilities. They occur when a plugin registers an AJAX action or REST API endpoint. The plugin then forgets to verify that the user making the request has the required permissions. WordPress provides built-in functions like current_user_can() to check capabilities before executing sensitive operations. However, many plugins skip these checks during development or when adding new features quickly.
WordPress has a well-defined capability hierarchy that plugins should use for authorization. For plugin settings management, the appropriate capability is typically manage_options. For content operations, capabilities like edit_posts, publish_posts, or delete_others_posts are appropriate. The current_user_can() function checks whether the current authenticated user has the specified capability. It considers their role and any assigned capabilities. If the user lacks the required capability, the function returns false. The plugin should then reject the request.
A typical secure AJAX handler pattern looks like this:
function my_sticky_element_delete_handler() {
// Check capability first
if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
}
// Verify nonce
if (!wp_verify_nonce($_POST['_wpnonce'], 'delete_sticky_element')) {
wp_die('Invalid nonce', 403);
}
// Process deletion
$element_id = intval($_POST['element_id']);
// ... deletion logic ...
wp_die('Element deleted');
}
add_action('wp_ajax_delete_sticky_element', 'my_sticky_element_delete_handler');My Sticky Elements likely omitted the current_user_can() check in one or more of its AJAX handlers. This leaves the deletion endpoint accessible to any authenticated user regardless of their role. This is a straightforward coding oversight that can have significant consequences for site owners who rely on the plugin for their conversion optimization strategy.
Detecting and Preventing Unauthorized Data Deletion
How to Detect Exploitation
Detecting unauthorized data deletion requires monitoring AJAX requests and plugin data changes. Since the attack happens through AJAX calls that do not reload the page, traditional server log analysis may not reveal the activity immediately. Site owners should look for patterns including multiple deletion AJAX requests from the same user session, deletion requests for multiple sticky elements in rapid succession, and AJAX requests to the vulnerable endpoint from low-privileged user accounts.
How Trusti Security Helps
Trusti Security’s Activity Logging module tracks all user actions including AJAX requests and REST API calls. The module records which user made the request, what action performed, what data affected, and the timestamp. When a deletion event occurs, it logs the event and sends an alert to the site administrator. This visibility is critical for detecting exploitation attempts in progress and for conducting forensic analysis after an incident.
Combined with User Role Management features, Trusti Security helps site administrators monitor who accesses what and identify unauthorized access attempts. The User Role Manager allows administrators to review and restrict the capabilities assigned to each user role. If the plugin correctly uses WordPress capabilities for authorization, low-privileged users will be unable to perform administrative actions regardless of any missing checks in third-party plugins.
The Importance of Regular Backups
Regular backups are essential protection against data loss. Even with security measures in place, vulnerabilities can be exploited before patches apply. Maintain automated daily backups of your WordPress database and files. Store them off-site or in a separate cloud storage provider. If a deletion exploit strikes, you can restore from the most recent backup before the deletion occurred. Test your backup restoration process to ensure it works quickly when needed.
Real-World Business Impact
For site owners using My Sticky Elements for lead generation and customer communication, the impact of unauthorized data deletion extends beyond technical disruption. The sticky elements often contain carefully crafted messaging, call-to-action buttons, and contact forms optimized for conversion. Losing these elements means losing weeks or months of optimization work. The click-to-chat and click-to-call features are frequently used by service businesses as their primary customer acquisition channel. If an attacker deletes these configurations, the business may experience a significant drop in inbound inquiries until the elements restore or reconfigure.
The My Sticky Elements plugin is available on WordPress.org at wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-sticky-element/. Update to the latest version as soon as possible. If you manage multiple WordPress sites, use a centralized management tool or a security plugin with bulk update capabilities to ensure all installations patch promptly.