CVE-2025-64228

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-64228 is a medium-severity information disclosure vulnerability affecting the SUMO Affiliates Pro WordPress plugin by FantasticPlugins, up to and including version 11.0.0. The flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to retrieve embedded sensitive data from the plugin’s internal storage, exposing system information such as database credentials, API keys, or internal configuration details. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) and is mapped to MITRE ATT&CK tactic T1213 (Data from Information Repositories). As a WordPress plugin vulnerability, it directly impacts the WordPress ecosystem and does not involve Apache or Nginx misconfigurations.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is specific to the WordPress plugin ecosystem. The plugin is distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository and third-party marketplaces. No open-source patch data (OSV) or GitHub advisory context is available, indicating that the vendor has not yet released a fix. Users should treat this as an unpatched supply chain risk and consider disabling the plugin until a patch is provided.

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: Network
• Attack Complexity: Low
• Privileges Required: None
• User Interaction: None
• Scope: Unchanged
• Confidentiality Impact: Low
• Integrity Impact: None
• Availability Impact: None

The low EPSS score (0.0%) suggests that exploitation is not currently widespread, but the lack of a patch and the ease of exploitation (no authentication required) make this a significant risk for WordPress sites using the plugin.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the plugin’s data retrieval mechanism, which exposes sensitive system information without proper access controls. The plugin likely stores embedded data (e.g., affiliate API keys, database credentials, or internal configuration) in a publicly accessible endpoint or via a REST API route that does not enforce authentication. An attacker can send a crafted HTTP request to retrieve this data, leading to information disclosure.

The root cause is a missing or insufficient authorization check on a function that returns sensitive data. This is a classic CWE-200 issue, common in WordPress plugins that fail to validate user permissions before exposing internal state.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, we can only describe the vulnerable code pattern. The vulnerable version likely contains a function similar to:

// Vulnerable code (SUMO Affiliates Pro <= 11.0.0)
function get_system_info() {
    $data = get_option('sumo_affiliates_pro_config');
    return json_encode($data);
}
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_get_system_info', 'get_system_info');

The wp_ajax_nopriv_ hook allows unauthenticated users to trigger the action. A patched version would require authentication:

// Patched code (hypothetical)
function get_system_info() {
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized');
    }
    $data = get_option('sumo_affiliates_pro_config');
    return json_encode($data);
}
add_action('wp_ajax_get_system_info', 'get_system_info');

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker can send a direct HTTP request to the vulnerable endpoint. For example:

curl -X GET "http://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=get_system_info"

If the endpoint returns JSON data containing sensitive information (e.g., database credentials, API keys), the attacker can extract it. No authentication is required.

Lab Setup:

1. Install WordPress with SUMO Affiliates Pro version 11.0.0.
2. Configure the plugin with dummy sensitive data (e.g., fake API keys).
3. Use the above curl command to verify data retrieval.

Blue Team

To detect exploitation attempts, monitor for unusual requests to admin-ajax.php with actions related to the plugin. Use the following detection rules.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• URL Pattern: /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=get_system_info
• Response Content: JSON containing keys like api_key, db_password, secret_token
• Source IP: Any unauthenticated external IP
• User-Agent: Standard curl or wget (no specific pattern)

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule detect_cve_2025_64228_exploit {
    meta:
        description = "Detects exploitation attempts for CVE-2025-64228"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
    strings:
        $action = "action=get_system_info"
        $ajax = "admin-ajax.php"
    condition:
        $action and $ajax
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-64228 Exploitation Attempt
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests targeting the vulnerable SUMO Affiliates Pro endpoint
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'GET'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'action=get_system_info'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin requests (if patched)
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-64228 - SUMO Affiliates Pro Info Disclosure"; flow:to_server; http.uri; content:"admin-ajax.php"; http.uri; content:"action=get_system_info"; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Action: Disable the SUMO Affiliates Pro plugin until a patch is released.
2. Workaround: Implement a web application firewall (WAF) rule to block requests to admin-ajax.php with action=get_system_info from unauthenticated users.
3. Patch: Monitor the vendor’s website for an update. Once available, upgrade to a patched version.
4. Long-term: Conduct a security audit of all WordPress plugins and enforce least-privilege principles for REST API endpoints.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers