CVE-2025-22291

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-22291 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the LTL Freight Quotes – Worldwide Express Edition WordPress plugin by Eniture Technology. This flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially leading to unauthorized data access or manipulation of freight quote functionalities. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 5.0.20. As of the latest analysis, no official patch has been released, and no public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code is available. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation activity in the wild, but the risk remains significant for sites using this plugin.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability resides in a WordPress plugin ecosystem. The plugin is distributed via the WordPress Plugin Directory and third-party marketplaces. Since no patch is available, users must rely on manual mitigation or disabling the plugin. The lack of a patch increases supply chain risk, as compromised sites could be used to pivot attacks or exfiltrate sensitive freight data.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 5.3 (Medium)
• Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
• Privileges Required: None (PR:N)
• User Interaction: None (UI:N)
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U)
• Confidentiality Impact: Low (C:L)
• Integrity Impact: None (I:N)
• Availability Impact: None (A:N)

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability allows unauthorized access to sensitive data (e.g., freight quotes, customer details) but does not enable code execution or data modification. Exploitation requires no authentication and is trivial to execute.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability stems from missing authorization checks in the plugin's AJAX handlers or REST API endpoints. The plugin likely exposes functions to retrieve freight quotes, shipping rates, or configuration data without verifying user permissions. An unauthenticated attacker can send crafted HTTP requests to these endpoints to access data intended for authenticated users.

Root Cause: The plugin fails to implement current_user_can() or similar capability checks before processing requests. This allows any visitor to invoke privileged actions.

Attack Vector: The attacker sends a GET or POST request to a vulnerable endpoint (e.g., /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=ltl_get_quote) with no authentication token.

Impact: An attacker can enumerate freight quotes, view shipping configurations, or extract sensitive business logic. This could lead to competitive intelligence gathering or further attacks on the WordPress installation.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, a hypothetical fix would involve adding capability checks.

Vulnerable Code (Example):

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_ltl_get_quote', 'ltl_get_quote_handler');
function ltl_get_quote_handler() {
    // Process request without authorization
    $data = $_POST['data'];
    // ... return quote
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_ltl_get_quote', 'ltl_get_quote_handler');
function ltl_get_quote_handler() {
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    $data = $_POST['data'];
    // ... return quote
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Lab Setup:

1. Install WordPress 6.x with LTL Freight Quotes – Worldwide Express Edition <= 5.0.20.
2. Ensure the plugin is active and accessible from the network.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify vulnerable endpoints using a web proxy (e.g., Burp Suite) or by reviewing plugin source code.
2. Send an unauthenticated request to the endpoint:

   curl -X POST http://target/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php \
     -d "action=ltl_get_quote&data=test"
   

3. Observe the response containing sensitive data (e.g., freight rates, customer info).

Expected Output:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "quote": 123.45,
    "carrier": "FedEx",
    "customer_email": "admin@example.com"
  }
}

Blue Team (Detection & Response)

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with actions related to LTL quotes.
• Look for requests from IPs not associated with authenticated users.

Response:

• Immediately disable the plugin if exploitation is suspected.
• Review logs for unauthorized data access.
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block requests to vulnerable endpoints.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • HTTP requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=ltl_get_quote or similar.
  • Unauthenticated POST requests containing data parameters.
• File IOCs:
  • Plugin files in /wp-content/plugins/ltl-freight-quotes-worldwide-express-edition/.
• Log IOCs:
  • WordPress debug logs showing wp_ajax_nopriv_* actions without authentication.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_22291_LTL_Freight_Quotes {
    meta:
        description = "Detects exploitation attempts for CVE-2025-22291 in LTL Freight Quotes plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-22291"
    strings:
        $ajax_action = "ltl_get_quote"
        $plugin_path = "ltl-freight-quotes-worldwide-express-edition"
        $unauth = "wp_ajax_nopriv_"
    condition:
        $ajax_action or ($plugin_path and $unauth)
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-22291 - Unauthorized LTL Freight Quote Access
id: 8a3f7c2e-5d1b-4a9f-8c6e-2b1d3f4a5c6d
status: experimental
description: Detects unauthenticated requests to LTL Freight Quotes plugin AJAX endpoints
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'admin-ajax.php'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'action=ltl_get_quote'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate plugin functionality if misconfigured
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-22291 - LTL Freight Quotes Unauthorized Access"; flow:to_server; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"admin-ajax.php"; http_uri; content:"action=ltl_get_quote"; http_client_body; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the plugin until an official patch is released.
2. Implement a WAF rule to block requests to admin-ajax.php with action=ltl_get_quote from unauthenticated users.
3. Review access logs for any signs of exploitation.

Long-Term Fix:

• Monitor the Eniture Technology website for a patched version.
• Apply the patch immediately when available.
• Consider replacing the plugin with an alternative that follows secure coding practices.

Workaround:

• Add a custom function to your theme's functions.php to enforce authorization:

  add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_ltl_get_quote', function() {
      wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
  }, 1);
  

Valters IT
Cyber Threat Intelligence & DevSecOps