CVE-2025-64244

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-64244 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the WordPress plugin Restrict Elementor Widgets, Columns and Sections by Codexpert, Inc. This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially leading to unauthorized modification of Elementor widget restrictions. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 1.12. 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 low exploitation likelihood in the wild, but the risk remains for sites with sensitive content restrictions.

WordPress Ecosystem Context

This vulnerability is specific to the WordPress plugin ecosystem. It does not affect Apache, Nginx, or any core WordPress components. The plugin is designed to restrict Elementor widgets, columns, and sections based on user roles or other conditions. The missing authorization check allows attackers to bypass these restrictions.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

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

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability allows low-integrity impact (unauthorized modification of restrictions) but does not expose sensitive data or cause denial of service. Exploitation requires no authentication or user interaction.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the plugin's access control logic. The plugin likely uses WordPress capabilities or custom checks to determine if a user can modify Elementor widget restrictions. Due to a missing authorization check, an attacker can send crafted HTTP requests to endpoints that handle restriction updates without proper validation.

Root Cause: The plugin fails to call current_user_can() or similar WordPress capability checks before processing requests to modify restriction settings. This allows any unauthenticated user to alter which widgets, columns, or sections are restricted.

Attack Vector: An attacker can send a POST request to the plugin's AJAX handler or REST API endpoint with parameters to change restriction rules. For example:

POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php
action=restrict_elementor_widgets_update
restriction_data={"widgets":["all"],"roles":["administrator"]}

Impact: Successful exploitation could allow an attacker to:

• Remove restrictions on premium widgets, making them available to all users.
• Restrict legitimate users from accessing necessary widgets.
• Modify column and section restrictions, potentially breaking page layouts.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

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

Vulnerable Code (PHP):

add_action('wp_ajax_restrict_elementor_widgets_update', 'handle_restriction_update');
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_restrict_elementor_widgets_update', 'handle_restriction_update');

function handle_restriction_update() {
    // Missing capability check
    $data = $_POST['restriction_data'];
    update_option('restrict_elementor_widgets_settings', $data);
    wp_die();
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

add_action('wp_ajax_restrict_elementor_widgets_update', 'handle_restriction_update');
// Remove nopriv action to require authentication

function handle_restriction_update() {
    // Add capability check
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    $data = $_POST['restriction_data'];
    update_option('restrict_elementor_widgets_settings', $data);
    wp_die();
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• A WordPress site with Restrict Elementor Widgets plugin version <= 1.12.
• No authentication required.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the AJAX action used by the plugin (e.g., restrict_elementor_widgets_update).
2. Send a crafted POST request to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with the action and malicious restriction data.

Example using cURL:

curl -X POST http://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php \
  -d "action=restrict_elementor_widgets_update" \
  -d "restriction_data[widgets][]=all" \
  -d "restriction_data[roles][]=subscriber"

Expected Outcome: The plugin will update its settings, allowing all widgets to be accessible to subscribers (or any role specified).

Blue Team

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with actions related to the plugin (e.g., restrict_elementor_widgets_update).
• Look for requests from unauthenticated users to these endpoints.
• Check for sudden changes in Elementor widget restrictions.

Hunting Query (Splunk):

index=web sourcetype=access_combined
| search uri="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" action=restrict_elementor_widgets_update
| stats count by src_ip, user_agent, status

Lab Setup:

1. Install WordPress and the vulnerable plugin version.
2. Use a tool like Burp Suite to intercept and modify requests.
3. Verify the vulnerability by sending unauthenticated requests and observing changes in plugin settings.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network:
  • POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=restrict_elementor_widgets_update from unauthenticated IPs.
  • Unusual parameters in POST body: restriction_data[widgets], restriction_data[roles].
• File System:
  • Modified wp_options table entries: restrict_elementor_widgets_settings.
• Logs:
  • WordPress debug log entries showing unauthorized access attempts to AJAX handlers.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule Detect_CVE_2025_64244_Exploit {
    meta:
        description = "Detects exploitation attempts for CVE-2025-64244 in WordPress logs"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-64244"
    strings:
        $ajax_action = "restrict_elementor_widgets_update"
        $restriction_data = "restriction_data"
    condition:
        any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-64244 Exploitation Attempt
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects unauthenticated POST requests to the vulnerable AJAX endpoint
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: POST
        cs-uri-query|contains: "admin-ajax.php"
        cs-uri-query|contains: "action=restrict_elementor_widgets_update"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin actions (if authenticated)
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-64244 - Restrict Elementor Widgets Missing Authorization"; flow:to_server; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; http_uri; content:"action=restrict_elementor_widgets_update"; 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 the vulnerable action.
3. Monitor logs for exploitation attempts.

Long-term Fix:

• The vendor must release a patched version that adds proper capability checks (e.g., current_user_can('manage_options')) and removes the nopriv AJAX action.
• Users should update to the latest version once available.

Workaround:

• Add a custom code snippet to the theme's functions.php to block unauthenticated access:

add_action('init', function() {
    if (defined('DOING_AJAX') && DOING_AJAX && !is_user_logged_in()) {
        $action = $_REQUEST['action'] ?? '';
        if (strpos($action, 'restrict_elementor_widgets') !== false) {
            wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
        }
    }
});

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers