CVE-2025-68569

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-68569 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the WordPress plugin WP Time Slots Booking Form by Codepeople, affecting versions up to and including 1.2.39. This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially leading to unauthorized data access or modification of booking forms and related data. The vulnerability is classified as a WordPress ecosystem issue, specifically within the plugin's permission checks. No public proof-of-concept (PoC) or patch is currently available, and the EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood at this time.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Users are advised to monitor the plugin's update channel for a patched version. Since no patch is available, supply chain risk is elevated for sites running the affected version.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 6.5 (Medium)
• Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
• Attack Vector: Network
• Attack Complexity: Low
• Privileges Required: None
• User Interaction: None
• Scope: Unchanged
• Confidentiality Impact: Low
• Integrity Impact: Low
• Availability Impact: None

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability is easy to exploit remotely without authentication, but the impact is limited to low confidentiality and integrity loss. No availability impact.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the WP Time Slots Booking Form plugin's access control logic. The plugin fails to properly validate user permissions when processing certain AJAX actions or REST API endpoints. Specifically, functions that handle booking creation, modification, or data retrieval do not enforce capability checks (e.g., current_user_can()), allowing unauthenticated users to trigger these actions.

Root Cause: The plugin uses wp_ajax_nopriv_* hooks for some actions without verifying the user's role or capability. This bypasses the intended access control, enabling attackers to:

• View or modify booking slots.
• Access sensitive booking data (e.g., customer names, email addresses).
• Potentially inject malicious data into the database.

Attack Vector: An attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to the WordPress site's AJAX endpoints (e.g., /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php) with the appropriate action parameter. Since no authentication is required, the request is processed.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, the vulnerable code pattern is described below. A patched version would include proper capability checks.

Vulnerable Code (example):

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_my_booking_action', 'handle_booking_action');
function handle_booking_action() {
    // No permission check
    $booking_data = $_POST['booking'];
    // Process and save data
    update_option('wp_time_slots_booking', $booking_data);
}

Patched Code (expected):

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_my_booking_action', 'handle_booking_action');
function handle_booking_action() {
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    $booking_data = $_POST['booking'];
    update_option('wp_time_slots_booking', $booking_data);
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• A WordPress site with WP Time Slots Booking Form <= 1.2.39 installed and activated.
• Network access to the target.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable AJAX action by reviewing the plugin's source code (e.g., wp-time-slots-booking-form/includes/class-ajax.php).
2. Send a crafted POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with the action parameter and malicious payload.

Example Request (using cURL):

curl -X POST http://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php \
  -d "action=wp_time_slots_booking_update&booking[slot_id]=1&booking[customer_email]=attacker@evil.com"

Expected Outcome: The attacker can modify booking data without authentication.

Blue Team (Defense)

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual AJAX requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with unknown or suspicious action parameters.
• Look for requests from unauthenticated users to actions that should require admin privileges.

Mitigation:

• Temporarily disable the plugin if no patch is available.
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block requests to vulnerable endpoints from unauthenticated users.
• Use a WordPress security plugin to enforce role-based access control.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action parameters like wp_time_slots_booking_update, wp_time_slots_booking_get, or similar.
  • Source IP addresses making multiple such requests without a valid session cookie.
• File IOCs:
  • Modified entries in the wp_options table under the wp_time_slots_booking option.
  • Unexpected booking data in the database (e.g., slots with suspicious email addresses).
• Log IOCs:
  • WordPress debug log entries showing wp_ajax_nopriv_* actions triggered by unauthenticated users.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_68569_WP_Time_Slots_Booking_Form {
    meta:
        description = "Detects vulnerable WP Time Slots Booking Form plugin files"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-68569"
    strings:
        $ajax_handler = "wp_ajax_nopriv_" nocase
        $booking_action = "wp_time_slots_booking" nocase
        $missing_cap = "current_user_can" nocase
    condition:
        $ajax_handler and $booking_action and not $missing_cap
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-68569 - Missing Authorization in WP Time Slots Booking Form
id: 8a4b3c2d-1e5f-4a7b-9c8d-0e1f2a3b4c5d
status: experimental
description: Detects unauthenticated AJAX requests to vulnerable endpoints
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-query|contains: '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'action=wp_time_slots_booking'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin actions (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> $HOME_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2025-68569 - WP Time Slots Booking Form Missing Authorization";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"POST"; http_method;
    content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; http_uri;
    content:"action=wp_time_slots_booking"; 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 WAF rule to block unauthenticated requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action parameters containing wp_time_slots_booking.
3. Review server logs for any signs of exploitation.

Long-term Fix:

• Monitor the WordPress plugin repository for an update (version > 1.2.39).
• Apply the patch as soon as it becomes available.
• Consider replacing the plugin with an alternative that has proper access controls.

Valters IT Signature This report was generated by Valters IT Cyber Threat Intelligence Division. For questions, contact threatintel@valters.it.