CVE-2025-1502

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-1502 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the IP2Location Redirection WordPress plugin, affecting all versions up to and including 1.33.3. The plugin fails to perform a capability check on the download_ip2location_redirection_backup AJAX action, allowing unauthenticated attackers to download the plugin’s settings backup file. This backup may contain sensitive configuration data, including API keys, database credentials, or other secrets stored in the plugin’s settings.

The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium) and an EPSS score of 0.0%, indicating low exploitation probability at this time. However, the lack of authentication required and the potential for sensitive data exposure make this a significant risk for WordPress sites using the plugin.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. No NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby packages are involved. The risk is limited to WordPress ecosystem deployments.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – Exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – Impact confined to the vulnerable component.
• Confidentiality (C): Low (L) – Limited data exposure (plugin settings).
• Integrity (I): None (N) – No data modification.
• Availability (A): None (N) – No service disruption.

Threat Level: Medium. While the CVSS score is 5.3, the ease of exploitation (unauthenticated, low complexity) and potential for sensitive data leakage elevate the practical risk for affected sites.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the download_ip2location_redirection_backup AJAX action handler. In WordPress, AJAX actions are registered via wp_ajax_ and wp_ajax_nopriv_ hooks. The plugin likely registers the action without a capability check, meaning any user (including unauthenticated visitors) can trigger it.

The handler function reads the plugin’s settings backup file (typically stored in the WordPress uploads directory or a plugin-specific folder) and forces a download. Since the backup file may contain plaintext API keys, database credentials, or other secrets, an attacker can exfiltrate this data.

Root Cause: Missing current_user_can() or wp_verify_nonce() check in the AJAX callback.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker identifies a WordPress site running the vulnerable plugin.
2. Attacker sends a GET or POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=download_ip2location_redirection_backup.
3. The plugin serves the backup file without authentication.
4. Attacker downloads and parses the file for sensitive information.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (<= 1.33.3):

add_action('wp_ajax_download_ip2location_redirection_backup', 'download_ip2location_redirection_backup');
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_download_ip2location_redirection_backup', 'download_ip2location_redirection_backup');

function download_ip2location_redirection_backup() {
    // No capability check
    $backup_file = plugin_dir_path(__FILE__) . 'backup.json';
    if (file_exists($backup_file)) {
        header('Content-Type: application/json');
        header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="backup.json"');
        readfile($backup_file);
    }
    wp_die();
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical 1.33.4):

add_action('wp_ajax_download_ip2location_redirection_backup', 'download_ip2location_redirection_backup');
// Remove the nopriv hook to require authentication

function download_ip2location_redirection_backup() {
    // Add capability check
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    // Optionally add nonce verification
    if (!wp_verify_nonce($_REQUEST['_wpnonce'], 'download_backup')) {
        wp_die('Invalid nonce', 403);
    }
    $backup_file = plugin_dir_path(__FILE__) . 'backup.json';
    if (file_exists($backup_file)) {
        header('Content-Type: application/json');
        header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="backup.json"');
        readfile($backup_file);
    }
    wp_die();
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• A WordPress site with IP2Location Redirection plugin <= 1.33.3 installed and activated.
• Network access to the site.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the target WordPress site (e.g., https://target.com).
2. Send a request to the AJAX endpoint:

   curl -X GET "https://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=download_ip2location_redirection_backup" -O backup.json
   

3. Examine the downloaded file for sensitive data:

   cat backup.json | jq .
   

4. If the backup contains API keys or credentials, use them for further attacks (e.g., API abuse, lateral movement).

Expected Output: The server responds with a JSON file containing the plugin’s settings.

Blue Team (Detection & Response)

Detection Steps:

1. Monitor web server logs for requests to admin-ajax.php with action=download_ip2location_redirection_backup from unauthenticated IPs.
2. Check for unusual file downloads (e.g., backup.json) from the plugin directory.
3. Review plugin settings for any unauthorized changes or exfiltration.

Hunting Query (Splunk):

index=web_logs sourcetype=access_combined
| search uri_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND uri_query="*action=download_ip2location_redirection_backup*"
| stats count by src_ip, user_agent, status
| where status=200

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • HTTP GET/POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with parameter action=download_ip2location_redirection_backup.
  • Outbound connections from the server to unknown IPs carrying the backup file (if exfiltrated).

• File IOCs:

  • Presence of backup.json in the plugin directory (/wp-content/plugins/ip2location-redirection/).
  • Unauthorized access to the plugin’s settings backup file.

• Behavioral IOCs:

  • Sudden spike in admin-ajax.php requests from a single IP.
  • Anonymous requests to AJAX actions that should require authentication.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_1502_IP2Location_Redirection_Backup_Download {
    meta:
        description = "Detects attempts to exploit CVE-2025-1502 by downloading the IP2Location Redirection plugin backup"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-1502"
        hash = "d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e"
    strings:
        $ajax_action = "action=download_ip2location_redirection_backup"
        $admin_ajax = "admin-ajax.php"
    condition:
        $ajax_action and $admin_ajax
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-1502 - IP2Location Redirection Backup Download Attempt
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects unauthenticated requests to download the IP2Location Redirection plugin backup via AJAX
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
references:
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-1502
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains: "action=download_ip2location_redirection_backup"
        cs-uri-stem|endswith: "/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin actions (if patched)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2025-1502 - IP2Location Redirection Backup Download Attempt";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"GET"; http_method;
    content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; http_uri;
    content:"action=download_ip2location_redirection_backup"; http_uri;
    classtype:attempted-recon;
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
    reference:url,https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-1502;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Upgrade the plugin to version 1.33.4 or later if available. If not, consider disabling the plugin until a patch is released.
2. Restrict access to the AJAX action by adding a capability check via a custom plugin or WordPress filter:

   add_action('wp_ajax_download_ip2location_redirection_backup', function() {
       if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
           wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
       }
   }, 1);
   

3. Review and rotate any API keys or secrets that may have been exposed in the backup file.
4. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block requests containing action=download_ip2location_redirection_backup from unauthenticated sources.

Long-term Measures:

• Enforce the principle of least privilege for all AJAX actions.
• Regularly audit WordPress plugins for missing capability checks.
• Use a security plugin (e.g., Wordfence) to monitor for suspicious AJAX requests.

Valters IT