Overview
In the expanding landscape of cybersecurity, a new vulnerability has been discovered that has a potentially devastating impact on websites built on the WordPress platform. Specifically, this vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-7712, affects the Madara – Core plugin for WordPress. This plugin is widely used in WordPress environments, making the scope of this vulnerability concerning. The significance of this vulnerability lies in its potential to compromise system data and potentially lead to unauthorized remote code execution.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-7712
Severity: Critical (CVSS: 9.1)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Arbitrary File Deletion, Potential System Compromise, and Data Leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Madara – Core WordPress Plugin | <= 2.2.3 How the Exploit Works
This vulnerability stems from insufficient file path validation in the wp_manga_delete_zip() function of the Madara – Core plugin. When an unauthenticated attacker sends a carefully crafted request, they can manipulate the function to delete arbitrary files on the server. The deletion of certain files, such as wp-config.php, could lead to remote code execution. This exploit does not require any user interaction or special privileges, making it especially dangerous.
Conceptual Example Code
The following pseudocode demonstrates a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This involves sending a malicious payload to the vulnerable endpoint:
POST /wp_manga_delete_zip HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "file_path": "../wp-config.php" }In the above example, the ‘file_path’ in the JSON payload is manipulated to point to the wp-config.php file. The wp_manga_delete_zip() function processes this request and deletes the wp-config.php file, potentially leading to remote code execution.
Mitigation and Prevention
The most practical mitigation option for this vulnerability is to apply the vendor’s patch. As of now, the Madara – Core plugin’s developers have released an updated version of the plugin that addresses this issue. If this is not possible, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) could serve as a temporary mitigation strategy by blocking or alerting on attempts to exploit this vulnerability. As always, it’s recommended to keep all software and plugins updated to the latest versions to prevent the exploitation of known vulnerabilities.