CVE-2025-1402

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-1402 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the WordPress ecosystem, specifically within the "Event Tickets and Registration" plugin (versions up to and including 5.19.1.1). The flaw resides in the ajax_ticket_delete function, which fails to perform a capability check before processing deletion requests. This allows authenticated attackers with at least Contributor-level access to delete arbitrary Attendee tickets, leading to unauthorized loss of data. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium), with an EPSS score of 0.0% indicating low exploitation likelihood at this time. No public proof-of-concept or exploit code is available, and the patch status remains unknown.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Users should verify the integrity of their plugin files and monitor for updates from the vendor. No known supply chain compromise has been reported.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 5.3 (Medium)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
• Privileges Required: Low (PR:L) – requires Contributor-level access
• User Interaction: None (UI:N)
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U)
• Confidentiality Impact: None (C:N)
• Integrity Impact: None (I:N)
• Availability Impact: Low (A:L) – deletion of attendee tickets

The threat level is considered Medium due to the low privileges required and the potential for data loss, though the impact is limited to availability.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability exists in the ajax_ticket_delete function within the Event Tickets and Registration plugin. This function is intended to handle AJAX requests for deleting attendee tickets. However, it lacks a capability check (e.g., current_user_can('manage_options') or similar) to verify that the requesting user has the necessary permissions to delete arbitrary tickets. As a result, any authenticated user with Contributor-level access or higher can send a crafted AJAX request to delete any attendee ticket, regardless of ownership or event association.

The root cause is a missing authorization check (CWE-862) in the WordPress AJAX handler. The function likely uses wp_ajax_* hooks, which are accessible to authenticated users, but fails to validate the user's capabilities before performing the deletion.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

The vulnerable code in ajax_ticket_delete (simplified):

add_action('wp_ajax_ticket_delete', 'ajax_ticket_delete');
function ajax_ticket_delete() {
    $ticket_id = intval($_POST['ticket_id']);
    // Missing capability check
    wp_delete_post($ticket_id, true);
    wp_die();
}

A patched version would include a capability check:

add_action('wp_ajax_ticket_delete', 'ajax_ticket_delete');
function ajax_ticket_delete() {
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized');
    }
    $ticket_id = intval($_POST['ticket_id']);
    wp_delete_post($ticket_id, true);
    wp_die();
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

1. Prerequisites: Authenticated access to a WordPress site with the vulnerable plugin installed (version <= 5.19.1.1) and a user account with Contributor-level privileges.
2. Steps:
   • Log in to the WordPress admin panel.
   • Identify the nonce and AJAX action for ticket deletion (e.g., via browser developer tools or by inspecting plugin source).
   • Send a crafted POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with parameters:
     • action: ticket_delete
     • ticket_id: [target ticket ID]
     • _wpnonce: [valid nonce]
   • The ticket will be deleted without authorization.

Example cURL command:

curl -X POST https://target-site.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php \
  -d "action=ticket_delete&ticket_id=123&_wpnonce=abc123" \
  --cookie "wordpress_logged_in_xxx=..."

Blue Team

1. Detection: Monitor AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with action=ticket_delete from users with low privileges (Contributor, Author).
2. Mitigation: Apply the vendor patch when available, or implement a temporary workaround by adding a capability check via a custom plugin or code snippet.
3. Hunting: Review logs for unusual deletion patterns of attendee tickets, especially from non-admin users.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network: POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=ticket_delete and a ticket_id parameter.
• Logs: WordPress debug logs showing wp_ajax_ticket_delete calls from users with role 'contributor' or 'author'.
• File: Modified or deleted attendee ticket posts in the WordPress database (post type ticket).

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_1402_WordPress_Ticket_Delete {
    meta:
        description = "Detects missing capability check in ajax_ticket_delete function"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        cve = "CVE-2025-1402"
    strings:
        $func = "ajax_ticket_delete"
        $hook = "wp_ajax_ticket_delete"
        $delete = "wp_delete_post"
        $cap_check = "current_user_can"
    condition:
        $func and $hook and $delete and not $cap_check
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-1402 - Unauthorized Ticket Deletion via AJAX
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects AJAX requests to delete attendee tickets without proper capability checks
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: POST
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'admin-ajax.php'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'action=ticket_delete'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin actions
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-1402 - Unauthorized Ticket Delete Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"admin-ajax.php"; http_uri; content:"action=ticket_delete"; http_client_body; nocase; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate: Disable the Event Tickets and Registration plugin until a patch is available.
2. Short-term: Implement a custom plugin or code snippet that adds a capability check to the ajax_ticket_delete function (e.g., current_user_can('manage_options')).
3. Long-term: Apply the official vendor patch once released. Monitor the WordPress plugin repository for updates.
4. Compensating Controls: Restrict Contributor-level access to trusted users only. Enable logging and monitoring for AJAX actions.

Valters IT