CVE-2025-62994

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-62994 is a medium-severity information disclosure vulnerability affecting the WP AI CoPilot plugin for WordPress, developed by WP Messiah. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to retrieve embedded sensitive data due to the insertion of sensitive information into sent data (CWE-201). This issue impacts all versions of the plugin from n/a through 1.2.7. As of this report, no official patch has been released, and the patch status remains UNKNOWN / UNPATCHED.

The vulnerability is specific to the WordPress ecosystem and does not involve the underlying web server (Apache or Nginx). The CVSS score of 4.3 indicates a moderate risk, primarily due to the potential for data leakage without requiring authentication. The EPSS score of 0.0% suggests low exploitation activity in the wild, but the lack of a patch makes this a significant concern for sites using the plugin.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is specific to the WordPress plugin ecosystem. The plugin is distributed via the WordPress Plugin Directory and can be installed directly from the WordPress admin dashboard. Since no patch is available, users are advised to consider removing the plugin or implementing virtual patching via a Web Application Firewall (WAF). The absence of a patch means that all installations of WP AI CoPilot up to version 1.2.7 are potentially vulnerable.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 4.3 (Medium)
• Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
• Attack Vector (AV): Network – The vulnerability can be exploited remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low – No special conditions are required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None – No user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged – The exploit does not affect other components.
• Confidentiality (C): Low – Limited sensitive data exposure.
• Integrity (I): None – No data modification.
• Availability (A): None – No denial of service.

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to extract embedded sensitive data, such as API keys or internal configuration details, from the plugin's responses. While the confidentiality impact is low, the exposure of such data could lead to further attacks.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to sanitize or filter sensitive data before including it in HTTP responses. Specifically, the plugin inserts sensitive information (e.g., API keys, tokens, or internal paths) into data sent to the client. This can occur in AJAX endpoints, REST API responses, or other data output mechanisms.

Root Cause: The plugin likely uses a function that echoes or returns data containing sensitive fields without proper filtering. For example, a debug endpoint or a configuration retrieval function might output the entire plugin settings array, including API keys.

Attack Vector: An unauthenticated attacker can send a crafted HTTP request to a vulnerable endpoint (e.g., /wp-json/wp-ai-co-pilot/v1/config or a similar AJAX action) and receive the sensitive data in the response.

Impact: The attacker can retrieve embedded sensitive data, which may include:

• API keys for external AI services (e.g., OpenAI, Google AI)
• Database credentials (if stored in plugin settings)
• Internal paths or URLs
• Other configuration secrets

This data can then be used to compromise the AI service accounts or gain further insight into the WordPress installation.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, we can only analyze the vulnerable code pattern. The vulnerable code likely resembles:

// Vulnerable code (wp-ai-co-pilot.php or similar)
function get_plugin_config() {
    $config = get_option('wp_ai_co_pilot_settings');
    // Sensitive data is returned directly without filtering
    return $config;
}

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_get_config', 'get_plugin_config');
add_action('wp_ajax_get_config', 'get_plugin_config');

A patched version would need to:

// Patched code (hypothetical)
function get_plugin_config() {
    $config = get_option('wp_ai_co_pilot_settings');
    // Remove sensitive fields before returning
    unset($config['api_key']);
    unset($config['secret_token']);
    return $config;
}

The patch must ensure that any endpoint returning data to the client explicitly removes or masks sensitive fields.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• A WordPress installation with WP AI CoPilot plugin version <= 1.2.7
• Network access to the WordPress site

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify Vulnerable Endpoints: Use a tool like Burp Suite or curl to enumerate AJAX actions and REST API routes. Look for endpoints that return plugin configuration data.

2. Craft Request: Send a GET or POST request to the vulnerable endpoint. For example:

   curl -X GET "http://target.com/wp-json/wp-ai-co-pilot/v1/config"
   

   Or for AJAX:

   curl -X POST "http://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" \
        -d "action=get_plugin_config"
   

3. Extract Sensitive Data: The response will contain the plugin's configuration, including any embedded sensitive data.

Example Output:

{
  "api_key": "sk-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "model": "gpt-4",
  "debug_mode": true,
  "database_password": "supersecret"
}

Blue Team

Detection Steps:

1. Monitor for Unauthorized Access: Look for requests to unknown AJAX actions or REST API endpoints related to WP AI CoPilot.

2. Review Plugin Settings: Check the plugin's settings page for any exposed sensitive data.

3. Implement Virtual Patching: Use a WAF to block requests to known vulnerable endpoints.

4. Disable or Remove Plugin: If the plugin is not critical, deactivate and delete it until a patch is available.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • HTTP requests to /wp-json/wp-ai-co-pilot/v1/config or similar endpoints
  • AJAX requests with action=get_plugin_config or similar
  • Responses containing JSON with fields like api_key, secret, token, password

• File IOCs:

  • Plugin files in /wp-content/plugins/wp-ai-co-pilot/ (version <= 1.2.7)
  • Modified plugin files that may indicate exploitation

• Log IOCs:

  • Unusual 200 responses to unauthenticated requests to plugin endpoints
  • Repeated requests to the same endpoint from a single IP

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_62994_WP_AI_CoPilot_Sensitive_Data_Leak {
    meta:
        description = "Detects WP AI CoPilot plugin files vulnerable to CVE-2025-62994"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-62994"
        hash = "unknown"
    strings:
        $sensitive1 = "api_key" ascii wide nocase
        $sensitive2 = "secret" ascii wide nocase
        $sensitive3 = "token" ascii wide nocase
        $sensitive4 = "password" ascii wide nocase
        $plugin_path = "wp-ai-co-pilot" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        $plugin_path and any of ($sensitive*)
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-62994 - WP AI CoPilot Sensitive Data Leak
id: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f9a0b1c2d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests to WP AI CoPilot endpoints that may leak sensitive data
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
references:
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-62994
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: http
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'GET' or 'POST'
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - '/wp-json/wp-ai-co-pilot/'
            - 'action=get_plugin_config'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate plugin usage
level: medium
tags:
    - attack.t1557
    - cve.2025.62994

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-62994 - WP AI CoPilot Sensitive Data Leak Attempt"; flow:to_server; content:"/wp-json/wp-ai-co-pilot/"; http_uri; nocase; content:"config"; http_uri; nocase; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the Plugin: Deactivate and delete the WP AI CoPilot plugin from all WordPress installations until a patch is released.
2. Virtual Patching: Implement WAF rules to block requests to known vulnerable endpoints (e.g., /wp-json/wp-ai-co-pilot/v1/config).
3. Review Logs: Check web server logs for any unauthorized access to plugin endpoints.

Long-Term Actions:

1. Monitor for Patches: Subscribe to WP Messiah's updates or the WordPress Plugin Directory for a patched version.
2. Rotate Secrets: If any API keys or passwords were exposed, rotate them immediately.
3. Harden WordPress: Ensure all plugins and themes are kept up to date, and remove unused plugins.

Workaround: If the plugin is essential, consider modifying the plugin code to remove sensitive data from responses (as shown in the patched code example). However, this will be overwritten on plugin updates.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers