CVE-2025-25122

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-25122 is a critical path traversal vulnerability affecting the WizShop plugin for WordPress, developed by Hashshop. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to read arbitrary files on the server by exploiting a specially crafted path traversal sequence (.../...//). This flaw exists in all versions of WizShop up to and including 3.0.2. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-35 (Path Traversal: '.../...//') and has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). As of this report, no official patch has been released, and no public exploit code is available. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood in the wild, but the risk remains significant due to the potential for sensitive file disclosure.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin (WizShop). WordPress plugins are distributed through the official WordPress plugin repository and third-party marketplaces. The lack of a patch and the nature of the vulnerability (path traversal) make it a supply chain risk for any site using the plugin. Users should immediately assess their exposure and consider removing or disabling the plugin until a fix is available.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
• Base Score: 8.1 (High)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N) – The vulnerability can be exploited remotely.
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L) – No special conditions are required.
• Privileges Required: None (PR:N) – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction: None (UI:N) – No user action required.
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U) – The vulnerable component and the impacted component are the same.
• Confidentiality Impact: High (C:H) – An attacker can read sensitive files (e.g., wp-config.php, database credentials).
• Integrity Impact: None (I:N) – No file modification is possible.
• Availability Impact: None (A:N) – No denial of service.

Threat Level: High. The vulnerability is easy to exploit and can lead to complete disclosure of sensitive server-side files.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability is a path traversal flaw that specifically uses the .../...// sequence. This is a variation of the classic ../ traversal, designed to bypass simple sanitization filters that only check for ../ or ..\\. The .../...// sequence, when processed by certain file path resolution functions, can collapse to ../ after normalization, allowing an attacker to escape the intended directory.

How it works:

1. The WizShop plugin likely handles file requests (e.g., for templates, images, or downloads) without proper validation.
2. An attacker sends a request with a path parameter containing .../...// followed by a target file path.
3. The server's file system or PHP's realpath() function normalizes the path, converting .../...// into ../, thus allowing directory traversal.
4. The attacker can then read arbitrary files outside the web root, such as /etc/passwd or wp-config.php.

Example vulnerable URL:

http://target.com/wp-content/plugins/wizshop/download.php?file=.../...//.../...//wp-config.php

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, we can only analyze the vulnerable code pattern. The vulnerable code likely resembles:

Vulnerable Code (PHP):

<?php
$file = $_GET['file'];
// Insufficient sanitization - only checks for '../'
if (strpos($file, '../') !== false) {
    die('Invalid file');
}
// Directly includes the file
include($file);
?>

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

<?php
$file = basename($_GET['file']);
$allowed_path = realpath(__DIR__ . '/uploads/');
$file_path = realpath($allowed_path . '/' . $file);
if (strpos($file_path, $allowed_path) !== 0) {
    die('Invalid file');
}
// Safe inclusion
include($file_path);
?>

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

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• A WordPress instance with WizShop plugin version <= 3.0.2.
• Knowledge of the target's file structure.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable endpoint (e.g., /wp-content/plugins/wizshop/download.php).
2. Craft a request using the .../...// sequence to traverse directories.
3. Read sensitive files like wp-config.php to obtain database credentials.

Example cURL command:

curl "http://target.com/wp-content/plugins/wizshop/download.php?file=.../...//.../...//wp-config.php"

Expected output: The contents of wp-config.php (database name, username, password, etc.).

Blue Team (Detection & Response)

Detection:

• Monitor web server logs for requests containing .../...// or similar traversal patterns.
• Look for requests to WizShop plugin files with suspicious file parameters.

Response:

• Immediately disable or remove the WizShop plugin.
• Check for signs of file disclosure (e.g., unexpected access to wp-config.php).
• Rotate any exposed credentials (database passwords, API keys).
• Conduct a full security audit of the affected server.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • HTTP requests containing .../...// in the URI.
  • Requests to /wp-content/plugins/wizshop/ with a file parameter.
  • Outbound connections from the server to unknown IPs (if attacker exfiltrates data).

• File System IOCs:

  • Unauthorized access logs showing reads of /etc/passwd, wp-config.php, or other sensitive files.
  • Modified or newly created files in the web root (though this vulnerability is read-only).

• Log IOCs:

  • Web server access logs with status 200 for requests to non-existent files (e.g., .../...//.../...//etc/passwd).
  • PHP error logs showing warnings about include() failures.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_25122_Path_Traversal {
    meta:
        description = "Detects path traversal attempts using .../...// pattern"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-25122"
    strings:
        $traversal = ".../...//"
        $wp_config = "wp-config.php"
        $passwd = "/etc/passwd"
    condition:
        any of ($traversal) and any of ($wp_config, $passwd)
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-25122 Path Traversal Attempt
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests with .../...// path traversal pattern targeting WizShop
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains: ".../...//"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of ... in file names (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-25122 WizShop Path Traversal Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:".../...//"; http_uri; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the WizShop plugin until a patch is released.
2. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block requests containing .../...// in the URI.
3. Review server logs for any signs of exploitation.

Long-term Fix:

• The vendor (Hashshop) must release a patched version that properly validates file paths using realpath() and whitelisting.
• Users should monitor the official WordPress plugin repository for updates.

Workaround:

• If the plugin cannot be disabled, modify the vulnerable PHP file to add proper path validation (see patched code example above).

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers