CVE-2025-30829

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-30829 is a critical PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability discovered in the WordPress plugin WPCafe by Arraytics. The vulnerability stems from improper control of a filename used in a PHP include/require statement, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to include arbitrary local files from the server. This can lead to sensitive information disclosure, such as reading the wp-config.php file containing database credentials. The vulnerability affects all versions of WPCafe up to and including 2.2.31. No public proof-of-concept (PoC) or patch details are currently available, but the CVSS score of 7.5 indicates a high severity risk.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects the WordPress plugin ecosystem. Since WPCafe is distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository, any site running a vulnerable version is at risk. Administrators should monitor for updates from the vendor and apply patches immediately when released.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – The vulnerability can be exploited remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions are required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – The exploit does not affect other components.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – Sensitive files can be read.
• Integrity (I): None (N) – No file modification possible.
• Availability (A): None (N) – No denial of service.

Threat Level: High. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated file reading, which can lead to full site compromise if credentials are exposed.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the WPCafe plugin's PHP code, where a user-supplied parameter is used directly in a PHP include() or require() statement without proper sanitization or validation. This allows an attacker to manipulate the file path to include arbitrary files from the server's filesystem.

Root Cause: The plugin likely uses a parameter like file or template to load dynamic content. The code does not restrict the path to a specific directory or validate the file extension, enabling path traversal attacks (e.g., ../../wp-config.php).

Impact: An attacker can read sensitive files such as:

• wp-config.php (database credentials, salts)
• /etc/passwd (user enumeration)
• Log files containing session tokens

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, the vulnerable code pattern is hypothesized:

Vulnerable Code (hypothetical):

$file = $_GET['file'];
include( $file . '.php' );

Patched Code (expected):

$allowed_files = array('menu', 'cart', 'checkout');
$file = $_GET['file'];
if (in_array($file, $allowed_files)) {
    include( $file . '.php' );
} else {
    // error handling
}

The patch should implement a whitelist of allowed files or use realpath() to restrict the include path.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Attacker)

Lab Setup:

1. Install WordPress with WPCafe plugin version 2.2.31.
2. Ensure the site is accessible over the network.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable parameter (e.g., file, template, page).
2. Craft a request to include a sensitive file:

   GET /wp-content/plugins/wp-cafe/?file=../../../../wp-config HTTP/1.1
   Host: target.com
   

3. The server will include the wp-config.php file, revealing database credentials.

Note: No public exploit code is available, so this is a theoretical approach.

Blue Team (Defender)

Detection:

• Monitor web server logs for suspicious path traversal patterns (e.g., ../ sequences).
• Look for requests to WPCafe endpoints with unexpected parameters.
• Use WAF rules to block path traversal attempts.

Mitigation:

• Disable the WPCafe plugin until a patch is applied.
• Implement file integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized changes.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• URL Patterns: wp-content/plugins/wp-cafe/?file=..%2f..%2f..%2f..%2fwp-config
• Log Entries: HTTP requests containing ../ or %2e%2e%2f in the query string.
• File Access: Unauthorized reads of wp-config.php, /etc/passwd, or other sensitive files.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_30829_WPCafe_LFI {
    meta:
        description = "Detects attempts to exploit CVE-2025-30829 in WPCafe plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-30829"
    strings:
        $path_traversal = /\.\.\/|\.\.\\|%2e%2e%2f|%2e%2e\\/
        $wp_cafe_param = /[?&]file=/
    condition:
        $wp_cafe_param and $path_traversal
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-30829 WPCafe LFI Attempt
id: 8a9b3c4d-5e6f-7a8b-9c0d-1e2f3a4b5c6d
status: experimental
description: Detects path traversal attempts targeting WPCafe plugin
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - 'wp-content/plugins/wp-cafe/'
            - 'file='
            - '../'
            - '..\\'
            - '%2e%2e%2f'
            - '%2e%2e\\'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of relative paths in other plugins
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-30829 WPCafe LFI Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"wp-content/plugins/wp-cafe/"; http_uri; content:"file="; http_uri; pcre:"/(\.\.\/|\.\.\\|%2e%2e%2f|%2e%2e\\)/i"; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Action: Disable the WPCafe plugin until a patched version is released.
2. Vendor Patch: Monitor the WordPress plugin repository for updates and apply version 2.2.32 or later when available.
3. WAF Rules: Deploy web application firewall rules to block path traversal patterns.
4. File Permissions: Ensure sensitive files like wp-config.php are not readable by the web server user.
5. Monitoring: Enable logging and alerting for suspicious file inclusion attempts.

Valters IT
Securing digital frontiers, one CVE at a time.