CVE-2025-69190

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-69190 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Listihub WordPress plugin by e-plugins, affecting versions up to and including 1.0.6. This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially leading to unauthorized data access or privilege escalation. The vulnerability is classified as High Severity with a CVSS score of 7.3, yet the EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood at this time. No public proof-of-concept or patch is available, making proactive detection and mitigation critical.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability resides in a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Organizations using Listihub should verify their version and apply any available updates immediately. Since no patch exists, consider disabling the plugin or implementing virtual patching via a Web Application Firewall (WAF).

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 7.3 (High)
• Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
• Attack Vector: Network
• Attack Complexity: Low
• Privileges Required: None
• User Interaction: None
• Scope: Unchanged
• Confidentiality Impact: High
• Integrity Impact: None
• Availability Impact: None

The threat level is High due to the low attack complexity and no required authentication, though the impact is limited to confidentiality.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability stems from missing authorization checks in the Listihub plugin’s REST API endpoints or AJAX handlers. The plugin fails to validate user permissions before executing sensitive operations, allowing unauthenticated attackers to access or modify data intended for authenticated users only.

Root Cause: The plugin uses wp_ajax_nopriv_* hooks without proper capability checks, or exposes endpoints that do not verify nonces or user roles.

Attack Vector: An attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to vulnerable endpoints, bypassing access controls.

Impact: Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information (e.g., user data, configuration details) or potential privilege escalation if the plugin exposes admin-level functionality.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, we can only analyze the vulnerable code pattern. A typical vulnerable snippet might look like:

// Vulnerable: No capability check
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_listihub_get_data', 'listihub_get_data');
function listihub_get_data() {
    $data = get_option('listihub_sensitive_data');
    wp_send_json_success($data);
}

A patched version would include:

// Patched: Capability check added
add_action('wp_ajax_listihub_get_data', 'listihub_get_data');
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_listihub_get_data', 'listihub_get_data');
function listihub_get_data() {
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    $data = get_option('listihub_sensitive_data');
    wp_send_json_success($data);
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Attacker)

Prerequisites: WordPress site with Listihub plugin <= 1.0.6 installed.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify vulnerable endpoints by analyzing plugin source code or using fuzzing tools.
2. Send a crafted HTTP request to the vulnerable endpoint without authentication.

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

3. If successful, the response will contain sensitive data.

Expected Output: JSON response with plugin data.

Blue Team (Defender)

Detection: Monitor for unusual AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with actions related to Listihub (e.g., listihub_*). Look for requests without valid nonces or from unauthenticated users.

Hunting Query (Splunk):

index=web sourcetype=access_combined
uri_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"
uri_query=*action=listihub_*
| stats count by src_ip, uri_query, status

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network: HTTP requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=listihub_* parameters.
• File: Presence of Listihub plugin files in /wp-content/plugins/listihub/.
• Log: WordPress debug logs showing missing capability errors for listihub_* actions.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_69190_Listihub_Missing_Auth {
    meta:
        description = "Detects Listihub plugin files with missing authorization"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-01"
        reference = "CVE-2025-69190"
    strings:
        $vuln_func = "wp_ajax_nopriv_listihub" nocase
        $vuln_hook = "add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_listihub" nocase
    condition:
        $vuln_func or $vuln_hook
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-69190 - Listihub Missing Authorization Exploitation Attempt
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects attempts to exploit missing authorization in Listihub plugin
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'GET'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'action=listihub_'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin actions
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (
    msg:"CVE-2025-69190 - Listihub Missing Authorization Exploit";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php";
    http_uri;
    content:"action=listihub_";
    http_uri;
    classtype:attempted-admin;
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate: Disable the Listihub plugin if not critical to operations.
2. Virtual Patching: Deploy WAF rules to block requests to admin-ajax.php with action=listihub_* parameters from unauthenticated users.
3. Code Fix: Add capability checks (e.g., current_user_can('manage_options')) to all AJAX handlers.
4. Monitoring: Enable detailed logging for AJAX requests and monitor for anomalies.
5. Update: Watch for official patches from e-plugins and apply immediately.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers