Overview
In the fast-paced world of cybersecurity, vulnerabilities can emerge from even the most seemingly benign sources. One such vulnerability, dubbed CVE-2025-6746, affects the widely-used WoodMart plugin for WordPress, potentially exposing millions of websites to the risk of unauthorized code execution and sensitive data leakage. As a robust and popular e-commerce plugin, WoodMart’s vulnerability could have far-reaching consequences for businesses and their customers, making it a critical issue that demands immediate attention.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-6746
Severity: High – 8.8 (CVSS)
Attack Vector: Local File Inclusion (LFI)
Privileges Required: Contributor-level access and above
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Unauthorized code execution, potential system compromise, and data leakage
Affected Products
Escape the Surveillance Era
Most apps won’t tell you the truth.
They’re part of the problem.
Phone numbers. Emails. Profiles. Logs.
It’s all fuel for surveillance.
Ameeba Chat gives you a way out.
- • No phone number
- • No email
- • No personal info
- • Anonymous aliases
- • End-to-end encrypted
Chat without a trace.
Product | Affected Versions
WoodMart WordPress Plugin | All versions up to 8.2.3
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability lies in the ‘layout’ attribute of the WoodMart plugin. An attacker who possesses at least Contributor-level access to a WordPress site running the affected versions of this plugin can exploit this vulnerability to include and execute arbitrary .php files on the server. This can be done by manipulating the ‘layout’ attribute to point to a malicious PHP file, which is then executed. Consequently, this can lead to unauthorized access, sensitive data leakage, or even a total system compromise if the included PHP files contain malicious code.
Conceptual Example Code
Consider the following
conceptual
example of an HTTP request that exploits the vulnerability:
POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
action=load_quick_view&product_id=1&layout=/var/www/uploads/evil.phpIn this example, the attacker is exploiting the `load_quick_view` action of the `admin-ajax.php` file, a common endpoint in WordPress. They set the `layout` parameter to point to the `evil.php` file on the server, which is then included and executed.
Mitigation and Countermeasures
Users are strongly recommended to upgrade to the latest version of the WoodMart plugin which includes a patch for this vulnerability. As a temporary mitigation measure, the use of a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can help detect and prevent exploit attempts. However, these are not foolproof solutions and cannot replace the necessity of applying the vendor-supplied patch.
Regular security audits and vulnerability scans can also help in detecting such vulnerabilities early, thereby reducing the window of exposure.