CVE-2025-58193

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-58193 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Uncanny Automator WordPress plugin, developed by Uncanny Owl. This flaw allows an authenticated attacker with low privileges (e.g., a subscriber) to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially leading to unauthorized access to certain plugin functionalities. The vulnerability affects all versions from n/a through 6.7.0.1. As of this report, no official patch has been released, and no public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code is available. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating a low probability of active exploitation in the wild, but the risk remains due to the widespread use of WordPress and the plugin's popularity for automation.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is specific to the WordPress ecosystem and the Uncanny Automator plugin. It is not related to NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby packages. However, organizations using this plugin should treat it as a supply chain risk, as the plugin is distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository and may be included in managed WordPress hosting environments or custom builds.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
• Base Score: 4.3 (Medium)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
• Privileges Required: Low (PR:L) – attacker must have a valid WordPress user account (e.g., subscriber).
• User Interaction: None (UI:N)
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U)
• Confidentiality Impact: Low (C:L) – potential unauthorized access to sensitive data or plugin settings.
• Integrity Impact: None (I:N)
• Availability Impact: None (A:N)

Threat Level: Medium. While the CVSS score is moderate, the vulnerability's ease of exploitation (low complexity, low privileges) and the plugin's automation capabilities could lead to data leakage or privilege escalation if chained with other flaws.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the Uncanny Automator plugin's authorization checks. The plugin provides automation recipes that trigger actions based on user events. The flaw is a Missing Authorization (CWE-862) in one or more REST API endpoints or AJAX handlers, allowing authenticated users with low privileges (e.g., subscribers) to access or modify resources intended for higher-privileged users (e.g., administrators).

Root Cause: The plugin fails to properly validate user capabilities (e.g., manage_options or edit_posts) before executing sensitive operations. This allows an attacker to:

• View or modify automation recipes.
• Access logs or settings that should be restricted.
• Potentially trigger actions that affect other users or the site.

Attack Scenario:

1. An attacker registers or compromises a low-privileged WordPress account (e.g., subscriber).
2. The attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to the vulnerable endpoint (e.g., /wp-json/uncanny-automator/v1/...).
3. The plugin processes the request without checking if the user has the required capabilities.
4. The attacker gains unauthorized access to plugin data or functionality.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no official patch is available, the following is a hypothetical comparison based on common fixes for CWE-862.

Vulnerable Code (PHP):

// In a REST API endpoint handler
function handle_recipe_update( $request ) {
    $recipe_id = $request->get_param( 'id' );
    // Missing capability check
    update_recipe( $recipe_id, $request->get_params() );
    return new WP_REST_Response( array( 'success' => true ), 200 );
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

function handle_recipe_update( $request ) {
    // Add capability check
    if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
        return new WP_Error( 'rest_forbidden', esc_html__( 'You do not have permission to update recipes.', 'uncanny-automator' ), array( 'status' => 403 ) );
    }
    $recipe_id = $request->get_param( 'id' );
    update_recipe( $recipe_id, $request->get_params() );
    return new WP_REST_Response( array( 'success' => true ), 200 );
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• A WordPress site with Uncanny Automator <= 6.7.0.1 installed and activated.
• A low-privileged user account (e.g., subscriber).

Steps:

1. Identify Vulnerable Endpoint: Use a tool like Burp Suite or curl to enumerate REST API endpoints. Look for endpoints under /wp-json/uncanny-automator/v1/ that do not require authentication or proper authorization.
2. Craft Request: Send a GET or POST request to the vulnerable endpoint with the low-privileged user's cookies or nonce.

   curl -X GET "https://target.com/wp-json/uncanny-automator/v1/recipes" \
     -H "Cookie: wordpress_logged_in_<hash>=<session_cookie>"
   

3. Verify Access: If the response contains sensitive data (e.g., recipe configurations, logs), the vulnerability is confirmed.

Note: No public exploit code is available. The above is a generic methodology.

Blue Team (Detection & Defense)

Detection:

• Monitor WordPress access logs for unusual API requests to /wp-json/uncanny-automator/v1/ from low-privileged users.
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block requests to unknown or suspicious endpoints.
• Implement user behavior analytics to detect privilege escalation attempts.

Defense:

• Immediate: Disable the Uncanny Automator plugin until a patch is released.
• Mitigation: If disabling is not possible, restrict access to the plugin's REST API endpoints using .htaccess rules or a security plugin (e.g., Wordfence).

  # .htaccess example to block all access to Uncanny Automator API
  <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteRule ^wp-json/uncanny-automator/ - [F,L]
  </IfModule>
  

• Long-term: Apply the principle of least privilege to all WordPress user roles and regularly audit plugin permissions.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • HTTP requests to /wp-json/uncanny-automator/v1/ from low-privileged user sessions.
  • Unusual POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action parameters related to Uncanny Automator (e.g., uap_*).
• File IOCs:
  • Modified plugin files in /wp-content/plugins/uncanny-automator/ (e.g., added backdoors).
  • Unexpected entries in WordPress wp_options table related to Uncanny Automator.
• Log IOCs:
  • WordPress debug log entries showing capability errors or unauthorized access attempts.
  • Web server access logs with 403/200 responses to Uncanny Automator endpoints from non-admin users.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_58193_Uncanny_Automator_Missing_Auth {
    meta:
        description = "Detects potential exploitation of CVE-2025-58193 in Uncanny Automator plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-58193"
    strings:
        $php_vuln = /current_user_can\s*\(/ nocase
        $rest_endpoint = /uncanny-automator\/v1\// nocase
        $ajax_action = /uap_/ nocase
    condition:
        any of ($php_vuln) and any of ($rest_endpoint) or any of ($ajax_action)
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-58193 - Uncanny Automator Missing Authorization Exploitation
id: 8a4b3c2d-1e5f-4a7b-9c8d-0e1f2a3b4c5d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests to Uncanny Automator REST API endpoints from low-privileged users
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
references:
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-58193
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains: "/wp-json/uncanny-automator/v1/"
        cs-username|re: "^(?!admin).*$"  # Exclude admin users
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin users accessing the API
level: medium
tags:
    - attack.initial_access
    - attack.t1190

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-58193 - Uncanny Automator Missing Authorization Exploitation"; flow:to_server; content:"/wp-json/uncanny-automator/v1/"; http_uri; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the Plugin: Deactivate and uninstall Uncanny Automator until a patched version is released.
2. Restrict Access: Use a security plugin or .htaccess to block access to the plugin's REST API endpoints.
3. Audit User Roles: Review and tighten user role permissions to ensure low-privileged users cannot access sensitive areas.

Long-term Actions:

1. Monitor for Patches: Subscribe to Uncanny Owl's security advisories and apply patches as soon as they are available.
2. Implement WAF Rules: Deploy a Web Application Firewall (e.g., Cloudflare, ModSecurity) with custom rules to block exploitation attempts.
3. Regular Security Audits: Conduct periodic vulnerability scans and code reviews for all WordPress plugins.

Workaround (if disabling is not possible):

• Add a custom capability check in a child theme or mu-plugin:

  add_filter( 'rest_pre_dispatch', function( $result, $server, $request ) {
      if ( strpos( $request->get_route(), 'uncanny-automator/v1' ) !== false ) {
          if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
              return new WP_Error( 'rest_forbidden', 'Access denied.', array( 'status' => 403 ) );
          }
      }
      return $result;
  }, 10, 3 );
  

Valters IT
Senior DevSecOps & Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst