CVE-2025-49294

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-49294 is a vulnerability in the WordPress plugin Crawlomatic Multisite Scraper Post Generator (slug: crawlomatic-multipage-scraper-post-generator), developed by CodeRevolution. The flaw is classified as an Insertion of Sensitive Information Into Sent Data (CWE-201). This allows an unauthenticated attacker to retrieve embedded sensitive data, such as API keys, database credentials, or internal configuration details, that are inadvertently included in HTTP responses or client-side data transmissions.

The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 2.6.8.2. No patch is currently available, and no public exploit code has been released. The CVSS score is 5.3 (Medium), with a low EPSS probability (0.0%), indicating that exploitation is not yet widespread but remains a significant risk for exposed instances.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability resides in a WordPress plugin ecosystem. The plugin is distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository and third-party marketplaces. Users should verify the integrity of their plugin files and monitor for any unauthorized modifications. Since no patch exists, the supply chain risk is elevated—users must rely on manual mitigation or plugin replacement.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability is easy to exploit remotely without authentication, but the impact is limited to information disclosure. However, if the leaked data includes credentials or API keys, the actual risk can escalate significantly.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability stems from the plugin’s failure to sanitize or restrict sensitive data in HTTP responses. Specifically, the plugin may embed internal configuration values (e.g., database passwords, API tokens, or secret keys) in JavaScript variables, HTML comments, or AJAX responses that are sent to the client.

Root Cause: The plugin likely uses var_dump(), print_r(), or similar debugging functions that output raw data structures, or it directly includes configuration files in publicly accessible endpoints without proper access controls.

Attack Vector: An unauthenticated attacker can send a crafted HTTP request to a vulnerable endpoint (e.g., /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with a specific action) and receive sensitive data in the response.

Example vulnerable endpoint (hypothetical):

GET /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=crawlomatic_get_config HTTP/1.1
Host: target-site.com

Response (leaked data):

{
  "db_host": "localhost",
  "db_user": "root",
  "db_pass": "SuperSecret123",
  "api_key": "sk-live-abc123"
}

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, we can only infer the vulnerable pattern.

Vulnerable Code (hypothetical):

// In a plugin file, e.g., crawlomatic-ajax.php
function crawlomatic_get_config() {
    $config = get_option('crawlomatic_settings');
    echo json_encode($config); // Leaks all settings including secrets
    wp_die();
}
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_crawlomatic_get_config', 'crawlomatic_get_config');

Patched Code (hypothetical):

function crawlomatic_get_config() {
    $config = get_option('crawlomatic_settings');
    // Only return non-sensitive fields
    $safe_config = array(
        'max_posts' => $config['max_posts'],
        'cron_interval' => $config['cron_interval']
    );
    echo json_encode($safe_config);
    wp_die();
}
add_action('wp_ajax_crawlomatic_get_config', 'crawlomatic_get_config'); // Requires authentication

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Prerequisites:

• A WordPress site with Crawlomatic Multisite Scraper Post Generator <= 2.6.8.2 installed and activated.
• No authentication required.

Step 1: Reconnaissance Identify the plugin’s AJAX endpoints:

curl -s http://target-site.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=crawlomatic_get_config

Step 2: Exploit If the endpoint returns sensitive data, extract it:

curl -s http://target-site.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=crawlomatic_get_config | jq .

Step 3: Escalate Use leaked credentials to access the database or external services.

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with unknown or suspicious actions.
• Look for responses containing patterns like "db_host", "api_key", or "password".

Honeypot: Deploy a fake endpoint that logs all requests:

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_crawlomatic_get_config', function() {
    $log = array(
        'time' => current_time('mysql'),
        'ip' => $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'],
        'user_agent' => $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']
    );
    file_put_contents('/var/log/crawlomatic_honeypot.log', json_encode($log) . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
    wp_die('Access denied');
});

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • HTTP requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action parameter containing crawlomatic.
  • Responses containing JSON with keys like db_host, db_user, db_pass, api_key, secret.

• File IOCs:

  • Plugin files in /wp-content/plugins/crawlomatic-multipage-scraper-post-generator/ that contain var_dump, print_r, or direct echo of configuration options.

• Log IOCs:

  • Web server logs showing repeated requests to admin-ajax.php with unknown actions.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_49294_Crawlomatic_Leak {
    meta:
        description = "Detects sensitive data leakage from Crawlomatic plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-49294"
    strings:
        $s1 = "db_host" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "db_pass" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "api_key" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "crawlomatic" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        any of ($s1, $s2, $s3) and $s4
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-49294 Crawlomatic Sensitive Data Leak
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP responses containing leaked configuration data from Crawlomatic plugin
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains: "admin-ajax.php"
        sc-status: 200
        response_body|contains:
            - "db_host"
            - "db_pass"
            - "api_key"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin requests (if authenticated)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-49294 Crawlomatic Sensitive Data Leak"; flow:to_server; content:"admin-ajax.php"; http_uri; content:"crawlomatic"; http_uri; content:"db_host"; http_server_body; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the plugin until a patch is released.

2. Restrict access to admin-ajax.php using .htaccess or a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule:

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

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

3. Audit logs for any signs of data exfiltration.

Long-term Fix:

• Replace the plugin with an alternative that does not have this vulnerability.
• If the plugin is critical, consider hiring a developer to patch the code manually by removing sensitive data from AJAX responses and adding authentication checks.

Valters IT Signature

Report generated by Valters IT DevSecOps AI Assistant. For questions, contact security@valters-it.com.