Overview
This blog post shines a light on a critical vulnerability – CVE-2025-4855, that resides in the Support Board plugin for WordPress. This vulnerability could potentially compromise the security of numerous WordPress websites, by allowing unauthorized access, modification, or deletion of data. It is crucial for system administrators, website owners, and cybersecurity professionals to understand the details of this vulnerability, as it has a high severity score and could lead to significant data leakage or system compromise if exploited.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-4855
Severity: Critical (9.8 CVSS score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Unauthorized access, modification, or deletion of data, potential system compromise, and data leakage.
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Support Board plugin for WordPress | All versions up to and including 3.8.0
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability resides in the sb_encryption() function of the Support Board plugin. This function uses hardcoded default secrets, which can be exploited by attackers to bypass authorization. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary AJAX actions defined in the sb_ajax_execute() function. This could enable an attacker to exploit CVE-2025-4828 and other functions without authentication.
Conceptual Example Code
Below is a conceptual example of how this vulnerability might be exploited. An attacker could craft malicious HTTP requests that use the hardcoded secrets to bypass the authorization process.
POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=sb_ajax_execute HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
sb_encryption_key=hardcoded_secret&sb_action=malicious_action&sb_data=malicious_dataMitigation and Recommendations
To mitigate this vulnerability, users of the affected plugin should apply the vendor patch as soon as possible. Until the patch is applied, users can use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary mitigation measure.
It is also recommended to regularly update all software and plugins to their latest versions. Regular monitoring and auditing of system logs can help in early detection of any unauthorized access attempts.
In the longer term, developers should avoid the use of hardcoded secrets in their code, as they present an inherent security risk. Instead, the use of dynamic secrets or secure secret management systems should be considered.