CVE-2025-69364

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-69364 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Cloudways Breeze WordPress caching plugin (versions <= 2.2.21). This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data or functionality. The vulnerability is classified as Medium Severity (CVSS 5.3) with a low EPSS score (0.0%), indicating low exploitation likelihood at this time. No public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code has been released. As a WordPress plugin vulnerability, it affects the WordPress ecosystem directly and is not related to Apache or Nginx.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability resides in the Cloudways Breeze WordPress plugin, distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Users are advised to monitor for updates from the vendor and apply patches as soon as they become available. No known supply chain compromise has been reported.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – Exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – Exploit does not affect other components.
• Confidentiality (C): Low (L) – Limited information disclosure.
• Integrity (I): None (N) – No data modification.
• Availability (A): None (N) – No denial of service.

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability is easy to exploit remotely but has limited impact (only confidentiality). No active exploitation has been observed.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The Missing Authorization vulnerability in Breeze arises from improper validation of user permissions when accessing certain plugin endpoints or AJAX actions. The plugin fails to enforce access control checks, allowing unauthenticated users to trigger functions that should require administrative privileges. This can lead to:

• Unauthorized reading of cached data or configuration settings.
• Potential information disclosure about the WordPress environment.
• Bypass of intended security restrictions.

The vulnerability is present in all versions up to and including 2.2.21. The exact affected endpoint(s) have not been publicly disclosed, but typical patterns involve AJAX handlers or REST API routes that lack current_user_can() checks.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no official patch has been released, the following is a hypothetical example of the vulnerable code pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable Code (PHP):

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_breeze_clear_cache', 'breeze_clear_cache_handler');
function breeze_clear_cache_handler() {
    // No permission check
    // ... cache clearing logic
}

Patched Code (PHP):

add_action('wp_ajax_breeze_clear_cache', 'breeze_clear_cache_handler');
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_breeze_clear_cache', 'breeze_clear_cache_handler_denied');
function breeze_clear_cache_handler() {
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    // ... cache clearing logic
}
function breeze_clear_cache_handler_denied() {
    wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Attack Simulation)

1. Reconnaissance: Identify WordPress sites running Breeze plugin version <= 2.2.21 using Shodan dorks or WPScan.
2. Exploitation: Send crafted HTTP requests to vulnerable AJAX endpoints without authentication.

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

3. Post-Exploitation: Extract sensitive information from responses or trigger unauthorized actions.

Blue Team (Defense & Detection)

1. Monitor Logs: Watch for unusual AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with action parameters starting with breeze_ from unauthenticated sources.
2. Web Application Firewall (WAF): Block requests to admin-ajax.php with action=breeze_* unless authenticated.
3. Harden Permissions: Ensure WordPress user roles are properly configured.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • HTTP POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=breeze_* parameters from unauthenticated IPs.
  • Unusual 200 OK responses to unauthorized AJAX calls.
• File IOCs:
  • Modified wp-content/plugins/breeze/breeze.php or related files.
  • Unexpected cache files in wp-content/cache/breeze/.
• Log IOCs:
  • Repeated 403 errors followed by 200 OK for the same endpoint.
  • Access logs showing admin-ajax.php requests without a valid session cookie.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_69364_Breeze_Missing_Auth {
    meta:
        description = "Detects missing authorization in Cloudways Breeze plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-01"
        reference = "CVE-2025-69364"
    strings:
        $vuln_func = "wp_ajax_nopriv_breeze_" nocase
        $vuln_pattern = "add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_breeze_" nocase
    condition:
        any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-69364 - Missing Authorization in Cloudways Breeze
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects unauthenticated AJAX requests to Breeze plugin endpoints
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-01
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'admin-ajax.php'
        cs-uri-query|contains|all:
            - 'action=breeze_'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin actions (rare)
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2025-69364 - Breeze Missing Authorization Attempt";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"POST"; http_method;
    content:"admin-ajax.php"; http_uri;
    content:"action=breeze_"; http_client_body;
    classtype:attempted-recon;
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
    reference:cve,2025-69364;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Actions:
   • Disable the Breeze plugin until a patch is available.
   • Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block unauthenticated requests to admin-ajax.php with action=breeze_*.
2. Long-Term Fix:
   • Apply the vendor patch when released (monitor Cloudways Breeze changelog).
   • Update to the latest version of the plugin.
3. Compensating Controls:
   • Restrict access to wp-admin/ directory via .htaccess or Nginx config.
   • Use a security plugin (e.g., Wordfence) to add additional access controls.
4. Verification:
   • After patching, test the affected endpoints to ensure authorization checks are enforced.

Valters IT - DevSecOps & Cyber Threat Intelligence