CVE-2025-24584

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-24584 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Ultimate Store Kit Elementor Addons WordPress plugin, developed by Bdthemes. This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially leading to unauthorized data exposure or limited manipulation of store-related functionalities. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 2.3.0. With a CVSS score of 4.3 (Medium), the risk is elevated due to the lack of required authentication and the plugin's widespread use in WooCommerce-based stores. No public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code has been released, and the vendor has not provided a patch.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability resides in a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository and third-party marketplaces. Users who have installed the plugin from any source are affected. The absence of a patch means that supply chain risk is high, as site administrators must rely on manual mitigation or removal of the plugin.

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) – Exploit does not affect other components.
• Confidentiality (C): Low (L) – Limited data exposure possible.
• Integrity (I): None (N) – No data modification.
• Availability (A): None (N) – No denial of service.

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability is easy to exploit but only allows limited information disclosure. However, in the context of an e-commerce site, exposed data could include order details, customer information, or product configurations.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability stems from missing authorization checks in the plugin's AJAX handlers or REST API endpoints. The plugin, designed to enhance Elementor with WooCommerce store widgets, likely exposes functions that should require administrative or shop manager privileges. Due to improper access control, unauthenticated users can trigger these functions.

Root Cause: The plugin fails to call current_user_can() or similar WordPress capability checks before executing sensitive operations. This allows any visitor to the site to invoke actions intended for authenticated users.

Attack Vector: An attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to the vulnerable endpoints, bypassing authentication. For example, a request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=ultimate_store_kit_get_orders might return order data without verifying user roles.

Impact: Unauthorized access to store data, such as product lists, customer details, or order statuses. While not critical, this can aid in further attacks like social engineering or targeted phishing.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, the vulnerable code remains in versions <= 2.3.0. A hypothetical fix would involve adding capability checks.

Vulnerable Code (Example):

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_ultimate_store_kit_get_data', 'ultimate_store_kit_get_data');
function ultimate_store_kit_get_data() {
    // No permission check
    $data = get_option('ultimate_store_kit_settings');
    wp_send_json($data);
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_ultimate_store_kit_get_data', 'ultimate_store_kit_get_data');
function ultimate_store_kit_get_data() {
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    $data = get_option('ultimate_store_kit_settings');
    wp_send_json($data);
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

1. Setup: Deploy a WordPress instance with the Ultimate Store Kit plugin version 2.3.0 and WooCommerce.
2. Recon: Identify AJAX actions by scanning the plugin's JavaScript files or source code. Look for actions registered with wp_ajax_nopriv_*.
3. Exploit: Send a crafted request to the vulnerable endpoint. Example using curl:

   curl -X POST http://target/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php \
        -d "action=ultimate_store_kit_get_orders&nonce=123"
   

   If the nonce is not validated, the request may succeed.
4. Verify: Check the response for sensitive data like order IDs, customer names, or product details.

Blue Team (Detection & Defense)

• Monitor: Watch for unusual AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with actions containing ultimate_store_kit from unauthenticated users.
• Harden: Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block requests to known vulnerable endpoints.
• Mitigate: Temporarily disable the plugin or restrict access to admin-ajax.php for unauthenticated users using .htaccess:

  <Files "admin-ajax.php">
      Require all denied
  </Files>
  

  (Note: This may break legitimate AJAX functionality; use with caution.)

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network: HTTP POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action parameter containing ultimate_store_kit.
• Logs: WordPress debug log entries showing unexpected AJAX calls from IPs not associated with admin users.
• File: Presence of the plugin directory /wp-content/plugins/ultimate-store-kit/ with version 2.3.0 or lower.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_24584_Ultimate_Store_Kit {
    meta:
        description = "Detects vulnerable Ultimate Store Kit plugin files"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-24584"
    strings:
        $vuln_func = "wp_ajax_nopriv_" ascii wide nocase
        $plugin_slug = "ultimate-store-kit" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        $plugin_slug and $vuln_func
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-24584 - Unauthenticated AJAX Access to Ultimate Store Kit
id: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f9a0b1c2d
status: experimental
description: Detects unauthenticated AJAX requests targeting Ultimate Store Kit plugin
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'admin-ajax.php'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'ultimate_store_kit'
        sc-status: 200
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin requests (rare)
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-24584 - Ultimate Store Kit Unauthenticated AJAX Access"; flow:to_server; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"admin-ajax.php"; http_uri; content:"ultimate_store_kit"; http_client_body; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate: Disable or remove the Ultimate Store Kit plugin until a patch is released.
2. Workaround: Implement a WAF rule to block AJAX requests containing ultimate_store_kit from unauthenticated users.
3. Monitor: Review access logs for exploitation attempts and block offending IPs.
4. Vendor Contact: Reach out to Bdthemes for an ETA on the patch. Consider switching to an alternative plugin if no fix is provided.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers