CVE-2025-54712

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-54712 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Easy Elementor Addons WordPress plugin by hashthemes, affecting versions up to and including 2.2.7. This flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially leading to unauthorized data exposure or functionality manipulation. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 4.3 (Medium) and an EPSS score of 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood at this time. No public proof-of-concept or patch is currently available.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability resides in a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Users who installed the plugin through the WordPress dashboard or via direct download are affected. The supply chain risk is moderate, as the plugin is widely used for extending Elementor page builder capabilities. No known malicious packages or backdoors have been identified in the distribution chain.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
• Base Score: 4.3 (Medium)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
• Privileges Required: None (PR:N)
• User Interaction: None (UI:N)
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U)
• Confidentiality Impact: None (C:N)
• Integrity Impact: Low (I:L)
• Availability Impact: None (A:N)

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability allows unauthorized modification of data or settings but does not directly expose sensitive data or cause denial of service.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability stems from missing authorization checks in the plugin's AJAX handlers or REST API endpoints. Specifically, the plugin fails to verify user capabilities before executing actions such as saving settings, updating options, or modifying content. This allows any unauthenticated visitor to trigger administrative functions.

Root Cause: The plugin uses wp_ajax_* hooks without proper current_user_can() checks, or implements nonce verification incorrectly. Attackers can craft HTTP requests to these endpoints without authentication.

Attack Vector: An attacker sends a crafted POST request to the WordPress site's admin-ajax.php or REST API endpoint, targeting the vulnerable action. Since no capability check is performed, the request is processed.

Impact: Attackers could modify plugin settings, inject malicious content, or disable security features. In worst-case scenarios, this could lead to persistent cross-site scripting (XSS) if the plugin stores unsanitized input.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (<= 2.2.7):

add_action('wp_ajax_easy_elementor_addons_save_settings', 'easy_elementor_addons_save_settings');
function easy_elementor_addons_save_settings() {
    // Missing capability check
    update_option('easy_elementor_addons_settings', $_POST['settings']);
    wp_die();
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

add_action('wp_ajax_easy_elementor_addons_save_settings', 'easy_elementor_addons_save_settings');
function easy_elementor_addons_save_settings() {
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    check_ajax_referer('easy_elementor_addons_nonce', 'nonce');
    update_option('easy_elementor_addons_settings', sanitize_text_field($_POST['settings']));
    wp_die();
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• Target WordPress site with Easy Elementor Addons <= 2.2.7
• No authentication required

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable AJAX action (e.g., easy_elementor_addons_save_settings).
2. Craft a POST request to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php:

curl -X POST http://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php \
  -d "action=easy_elementor_addons_save_settings&settings=malicious_value"

3. Verify the setting was changed by checking the plugin's configuration page.

Note: No public exploit code is available. The above is a generic example based on the vulnerability type.

Blue Team

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual POST requests to admin-ajax.php with unknown or suspicious action parameters.
• Look for requests from unauthenticated users to AJAX endpoints that should require admin privileges.

Hunting:

• Search logs for action=easy_elementor_addons_* from IPs not associated with known administrators.
• Check for unexpected changes in the wp_options table where option_name contains easy_elementor_addons.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network:
  • POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=easy_elementor_addons_* from unauthenticated sources
  • Unusual settings parameter values in POST data
• Host:
  • Modified wp_options entries with option_name like easy_elementor_addons_settings
  • Unexpected files in /wp-content/plugins/easy-elementor-addons/
• Logs:
  • Repeated 403 errors on AJAX endpoints (if patched)
  • Successful AJAX requests from unknown IPs

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule Detect_Easy_Elementor_Addons_Missing_Auth {
    meta:
        description = "Detects vulnerable Easy Elementor Addons plugin files"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-54712"
    strings:
        $ajax_action = "wp_ajax_easy_elementor_addons_" nocase
        $missing_check = "current_user_can" nocase
    condition:
        $ajax_action and not $missing_check
}

Sigma Rule

title: Unauthenticated AJAX Request to Easy Elementor Addons
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects unauthenticated POST requests to vulnerable AJAX actions in Easy Elementor Addons
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=easy_elementor_addons_"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin actions (rare)
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-54712 - Easy Elementor Addons Missing Authorization"; flow:to_server,established; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"admin-ajax.php"; http_uri; content:"action=easy_elementor_addons_"; http_client_body; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the plugin until a patch is released.
2. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block unauthenticated requests to admin-ajax.php with action=easy_elementor_addons_*.
3. Monitor logs for exploitation attempts.

Long-term Fix:

• Apply the vendor patch when available (currently UNKNOWN).
• If custom development is possible, add current_user_can('manage_options') checks to all AJAX handlers.
• Use WordPress capability checks and nonce verification consistently.

Workaround:

• Restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php via .htaccess for non-logged-in users:

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

Note: This may break legitimate AJAX functionality for logged-in users.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers