CVE-2025-49997

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-49997 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the WordPress plugin Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress (versions <= 1.12.18). This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to access functionality that should be constrained by Access Control Lists (ACLs). The vulnerability is classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) and carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation probability in the wild, but the lack of a patch makes it a persistent risk for unmaintained sites.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Since no patch is available, users must rely on manual mitigation or removal. The plugin is not an NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby package, but it is part of the WordPress ecosystem, which is a common target for supply chain attacks via compromised plugin updates or abandoned plugins.

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) – Impact confined to the vulnerable component.
• Confidentiality (C): Low (L) – Limited information disclosure.
• Integrity (I): None (N) – No data modification.
• Availability (A): None (N) – No denial of service.

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability allows unauthorized access to plugin functionality, potentially exposing giveaway configurations, participant data, or administrative actions.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the rafflepress plugin’s REST API or AJAX handlers. The plugin fails to enforce proper capability checks (e.g., current_user_can()) before executing sensitive operations. An unauthenticated attacker can send crafted HTTP requests to endpoints that should require administrative privileges, such as:

• Creating or modifying giveaways.
• Accessing participant lists.
• Triggering winner selection.

The missing authorization check allows attackers to bypass WordPress’s built-in role-based access controls. The exact endpoint is not publicly documented, but typical patterns include /wp-json/rafflepress/v1/ or admin-ajax.php actions.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

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

Vulnerable Code (PHP):

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_rafflepress_create_giveaway', 'rafflepress_create_giveaway');
function rafflepress_create_giveaway() {
    // No capability check
    $data = $_POST['giveaway_data'];
    // Process and save giveaway
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

add_action('wp_ajax_rafflepress_create_giveaway', 'rafflepress_create_giveaway');
function rafflepress_create_giveaway() {
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    $data = $_POST['giveaway_data'];
    // Process and save giveaway
}

The patched version would require authentication and the manage_options capability, preventing unauthenticated access.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• A WordPress site with RafflePress <= 1.12.18 installed and activated.
• No authentication required.

Exploit Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable endpoint (e.g., via fuzzing or plugin source code review).
2. Send a crafted HTTP request to the endpoint.

Example Request (cURL):

curl -X POST 'https://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php' \
  -d 'action=rafflepress_create_giveaway&giveaway_data={"title":"Malicious Giveaway","prize":"Hacked"}'

Expected Outcome: The giveaway is created without authentication, allowing the attacker to manipulate contest data.

Blue Team (Detection & Response)

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual POST requests to admin-ajax.php with action parameters starting with rafflepress_ from unauthenticated users.
• Look for spikes in giveaway creation or modification events.

Response:

• Immediately disable the RafflePress plugin if no patch is available.
• Review server logs for unauthorized giveaway creation.
• Reset any compromised giveaways and notify affected users.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network:
  • POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=rafflepress_* from unauthenticated IPs.
  • Unusual JSON payloads containing giveaway data.
• File System:
  • Modified or new giveaway entries in the WordPress database (wp_rafflepress_giveaways table).
• Logs:
  • HTTP 200 responses to unauthenticated admin-ajax.php requests with rafflepress actions.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule Detect_RafflePress_Missing_Auth {
    meta:
        description = "Detects exploitation attempts of CVE-2025-49997 in RafflePress plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-49997"
    strings:
        $action = "rafflepress_" nocase
        $ajax = "admin-ajax.php" nocase
        $post = "POST" nocase
    condition:
        $post and $ajax and $action
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-49997 RafflePress Missing Authorization Exploitation
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects unauthenticated POST requests to RafflePress admin-ajax actions
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'admin-ajax.php'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'action=rafflepress_'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin actions (requires authentication)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (
    msg:"CVE-2025-49997 RafflePress Missing Authorization Exploitation";
    flow:to_server,established;
    http.method; content:"POST";
    http.uri; content:"admin-ajax.php";
    http.client_body; content:"action=rafflepress_";
    classtype:attempted-admin;
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the plugin if not critical to operations.
2. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block unauthenticated requests to admin-ajax.php with rafflepress_ actions.
3. Monitor logs for exploitation attempts.

Long-term Fix:

• Since no patch is available, consider replacing the plugin with an alternative that is actively maintained.
• If the plugin is essential, apply a virtual patch by adding a capability check via a custom plugin or WordPress filter.

Valters IT Signature:

Valters IT
Senior DevSecOps Engineer
Cyber Threat Intelligence Expert