CVE-2025-31062

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-31062 is a medium-severity information disclosure vulnerability affecting the WordPress plugin Wishlist by redqteam, versions up to and including 2.1.0. The flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to retrieve sensitive system information from the plugin's internal data stores, potentially exposing database credentials, API keys, or other configuration secrets. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) and is mapped to MITRE ATT&CK tactic T1083 (File and Directory Discovery). No public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code has been released, and the vendor has not yet provided a patch. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood in the wild, but the risk remains for exposed WordPress installations.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Since WordPress plugins are not typically managed through package managers like NPM or PyPI, the supply chain risk is limited to the plugin's update mechanism. Users should monitor the plugin's page for a patched version and apply it immediately upon release. No known malicious packages or typosquatting attempts have been reported.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 4.3 (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) – exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L) – no special conditions required.
• Privileges Required: None (PR:N) – unauthenticated access.
• User Interaction: None (UI:N) – no user action needed.
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U) – impact confined to the vulnerable component.
• Confidentiality Impact: Low (C:L) – limited sensitive data exposure.
• Integrity Impact: None (I:N) – no data modification.
• Availability Impact: None (A:N) – no denial of service.

Threat Level: Medium. While the CVSS score is moderate, the potential exposure of sensitive system information (e.g., database credentials, secret keys) could lead to further compromise. The lack of a patch and low EPSS score suggest limited active exploitation, but the vulnerability is trivial to exploit once discovered.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the Wishlist plugin's REST API endpoint or AJAX handler that returns system configuration data without proper authorization checks. The plugin likely exposes a route (e.g., /wp-json/wishlist/v1/config or similar) that dumps internal settings, including database credentials, nonce keys, or file paths. The flaw is due to missing capability checks or nonce validation, allowing any unauthenticated visitor to call the endpoint.

Root Cause: The plugin fails to verify user permissions before serving sensitive data. In WordPress, REST API endpoints should check current_user_can() or validate nonces. The Wishlist plugin omits these checks, leading to information disclosure.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker identifies a WordPress site running Wishlist <= 2.1.0.
2. Attacker sends a GET request to the vulnerable endpoint (e.g., /wp-json/wishlist/v1/config).
3. The server returns a JSON response containing sensitive system information (e.g., DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, AUTH_KEY, SECURE_AUTH_KEY).
4. Attacker uses this data to escalate privileges or pivot to other attacks.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, the vulnerable code is presumed to be in the plugin's main REST API registration file (e.g., includes/class-rest-api.php). A typical vulnerable pattern:

// Vulnerable code (<= 2.1.0)
register_rest_route('wishlist/v1', '/config', array(
    'methods' => 'GET',
    'callback' => 'get_config',
    'permission_callback' => '__return_true' // No permission check!
));

A patched version would include a proper permission callback:

// Patched code (hypothetical)
register_rest_route('wishlist/v1', '/config', array(
    'methods' => 'GET',
    'callback' => 'get_config',
    'permission_callback' => function() {
        return current_user_can('manage_options'); // Admin only
    }
));

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Lab Setup:

1. Install WordPress on a local server (e.g., using Docker or XAMPP).
2. Install Wishlist plugin version 2.1.0 from the WordPress repository or a local copy.
3. Ensure the site is accessible over the network.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable endpoint by fuzzing common paths:

   curl -s http://target/wp-json/wishlist/v1/config
   

2. If the endpoint returns a JSON object with sensitive data, extract it:

   curl -s http://target/wp-json/wishlist/v1/config | jq '.'
   

3. Use the exposed credentials to log into the database or WordPress admin panel.

Automated Scanning:

• Use a custom script to check multiple targets:

  for url in $(cat targets.txt); do
    response=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "$url/wp-json/wishlist/v1/config")
    if [ "$response" == "200" ]; then
      echo "Vulnerable: $url"
    fi
  done
  

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection:

• Monitor web server logs for requests to /wp-json/wishlist/v1/config from unknown IPs.
• Alert on 200 responses to this endpoint from unauthenticated users.

Mitigation:

• Temporarily disable the plugin until a patch is available.
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block requests to the vulnerable endpoint.
• Implement virtual patching by adding a rule to deny access to /wp-json/wishlist/v1/config for non-admin users.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • HTTP GET requests to /wp-json/wishlist/v1/config
  • User-Agent strings commonly used by scanners (e.g., curl, python-requests, Go-http-client)
• File IOCs:
  • Presence of the file wp-content/plugins/wishlist/includes/class-rest-api.php with __return_true as the permission callback.
• Log IOCs:
  • Repeated 200 responses to the vulnerable endpoint from the same IP.
  • Unusual database queries or admin logins following the information disclosure.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_31062_Wishlist_InfoDisclosure {
    meta:
        description = "Detects Wishlist plugin files vulnerable to CVE-2025-31062"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-31062"
    strings:
        $vuln_func = "__return_true" ascii wide nocase
        $rest_route = "wishlist/v1/config" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        $vuln_func and $rest_route
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-31062 - Wishlist Plugin Information Disclosure
id: 8a4b3c2d-1e5f-4a7b-9c8d-0e1f2a3b4c5d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests to the vulnerable Wishlist plugin endpoint
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'GET'
        cs-uri-stem: '/wp-json/wishlist/v1/config'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin access (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-31062 - Wishlist Plugin Information Disclosure Attempt"; flow:to_server; content:"GET"; http_method; content:"/wp-json/wishlist/v1/config"; http_uri; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the plugin until a patched version is released.
2. Review server logs for any unauthorized access to the vulnerable endpoint.
3. Rotate all secrets that may have been exposed (database passwords, API keys, salts).

Long-term Fix:

• Apply the official patch from the vendor once available.
• If no patch is forthcoming, consider replacing the plugin with an alternative.

Compensating Controls:

• Implement a WAF rule to block requests to /wp-json/wishlist/v1/config.
• Restrict access to the WordPress REST API using IP whitelisting or authentication plugins.
• Regularly audit WordPress plugins for known vulnerabilities.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers