CVE-2025-14059

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-14059 is a critical Path Traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in the EmailKit WordPress plugin, affecting all versions up to and including 1.6.1. The flaw resides in the create_template REST API endpoint, where the emailkit-editor-template parameter is passed directly to file_get_contents() without proper sanitization or path validation. This allows authenticated attackers with Author-level permissions or higher to read arbitrary files on the server, including sensitive configuration files like /etc/passwd and wp-config.php. The file contents are stored in post meta and can be exfiltrated through MetForm's email confirmation feature, making this a high-impact data disclosure vulnerability.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects the WordPress plugin ecosystem specifically. The EmailKit plugin is distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository and third-party marketplaces. Since the patch status is UNKNOWN / UNPATCHED, users are advised to immediately disable the plugin until a security update is released. The lack of OSV or GitHub advisory data indicates limited public disclosure, but the exploit mechanics are well-understood.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – Exploitable remotely via HTTP requests.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required (PR): Low (L) – Requires Author-level authentication.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action needed.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – Vulnerability does not affect other components.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – Arbitrary file read exposes sensitive data.
• Integrity (I): None (N) – No file modification.
• Availability (A): None (N) – No denial of service.

CVSS Score: 6.5 (Medium) – While the confidentiality impact is high, the requirement for authentication lowers the overall severity. However, in a WordPress context, Author-level accounts are common, making this a realistic threat.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability is triggered via the WordPress REST API endpoint /wp-json/emailkit/v1/create_template. The emailkit-editor-template parameter is expected to contain a file path, but no validation is performed to ensure the path is within the plugin's allowed directory. The code directly passes this user-controlled input to file_get_contents(), which reads the file from the server's filesystem.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker authenticates with an Author-level account.
2. Sends a POST request to /wp-json/emailkit/v1/create_template with emailkit-editor-template set to a path like ../../../../etc/passwd.
3. The plugin reads the file and stores its contents in WordPress post meta.
4. The attacker then uses MetForm's email confirmation feature to exfiltrate the stored data, or directly queries the post meta via another API endpoint.

Why This Works:

• No path canonicalization or directory traversal checks.
• file_get_contents() is used without a base directory restriction.
• The result is stored in post meta, which is accessible to authenticated users.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (EmailKit <= 1.6.1):

// In create_template endpoint handler
$template_path = $_POST['emailkit-editor-template'];
$template_content = file_get_contents($template_path);
update_post_meta($post_id, '_emailkit_template_content', $template_content);

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

// In create_template endpoint handler
$allowed_dir = WP_CONTENT_DIR . '/uploads/emailkit-templates/';
$template_path = realpath($allowed_dir . basename($_POST['emailkit-editor-template']));
if (strpos($template_path, $allowed_dir) !== 0) {
    wp_die('Invalid path', 400);
}
$template_content = file_get_contents($template_path);
update_post_meta($post_id, '_emailkit_template_content', $template_content);

The patched version uses realpath() to resolve the path and then checks that it starts with the allowed directory, preventing traversal.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• WordPress instance with EmailKit plugin <= 1.6.1.
• Author-level account credentials (e.g., author:password).

Exploit Steps:

1. Authenticate and obtain a nonce or cookie.
2. Send a crafted POST request to the REST API endpoint.

Example cURL Command:

curl -X POST 'https://target.com/wp-json/emailkit/v1/create_template' \
  -H 'Cookie: wordpress_logged_in_<hash>=<cookie>' \
  -d 'emailkit-editor-template=../../../../etc/passwd&title=test'

Exfiltration via MetForm:

1. Create a MetForm form with email confirmation enabled.
2. The stored post meta is automatically included in the email, sending the file contents to the attacker's email.

Blue Team (Detection & Hardening)

Detection:

• Monitor REST API logs for unusual emailkit-editor-template values containing ../ or absolute paths.
• Alert on POST requests to /wp-json/emailkit/v1/create_template from Author-level users.

Hardening:

• Disable the EmailKit plugin immediately.
• Restrict Author-level users from accessing the REST API endpoint via .htaccess or a custom plugin.
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block path traversal patterns.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• File Paths: /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, wp-config.php, .env, config.php
• API Endpoint: /wp-json/emailkit/v1/create_template
• POST Parameter: emailkit-editor-template with values containing ../ or / at the start.
• Post Meta Key: _emailkit_template_content containing sensitive file data.
• MetForm Email: Emails sent from the site containing unexpected file contents.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_14059_EmailKit_PathTraversal {
    meta:
        description = "Detects path traversal attempts in EmailKit plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-14059"
    strings:
        $traversal = /\.\.\/|\.\.\\|%2e%2e%2f|%2e%2e%5c/
        $endpoint = "emailkit-editor-template"
    condition:
        $endpoint and $traversal
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-14059 EmailKit Path Traversal
id: cve-2025-14059
status: experimental
description: Detects path traversal attempts in EmailKit plugin REST API
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-query|contains: '/wp-json/emailkit/v1/create_template'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'emailkit-editor-template'
    keywords:
        - '\.\./'
        - '\.\.\\'
        - '%2e%2e%2f'
        - '%2e%2e%5c'
    condition: selection and keywords
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of template paths (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2025-14059 EmailKit Path Traversal Attempt";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"POST"; http_method;
    content:"/wp-json/emailkit/v1/create_template"; http_uri;
    content:"emailkit-editor-template"; http_client_body;
    pcre:"/(\.\.\/|\.\.\\|%2e%2e%2f|%2e%2e%5c)/i";
    sid:10000001;
    rev:1;
    reference:cve,2025-14059;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the EmailKit plugin until a patched version is released.
2. Review server logs for any unauthorized file reads.
3. Rotate all secrets stored in wp-config.php (database passwords, salts, keys).
4. Audit Author-level accounts and remove any that are not necessary.

Long-Term Fixes:

• Apply the patched code (see Vulnerable vs. Patched Code section) if you have developer access.
• Implement a WAF rule to block path traversal patterns.
• Use a security plugin like Wordfence to monitor REST API abuse.

Workaround:

• Restrict access to the REST API endpoint by adding the following to .htaccess:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/wp-json/emailkit/v1/create_template [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} POST [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>

Valters IT
Securing WordPress Ecosystems