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CVE-2025-8942: Manipulation of Review Ratings in WP Hotel Booking WordPress Plugin

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Overview

The vulnerability denoted as CVE-2025-8942 is a significant security flaw that has been discovered in the WP Hotel Booking WordPress plugin versions before 2.2.3. This vulnerability primarily affects website administrators who use the WP Hotel Booking WordPress plugin to manage their hotel booking services. The severity of this vulnerability cannot be understated. If cybercriminals exploit it successfully, it allows them to manipulate review ratings by intercepting and modifying requests, which can lead to system compromise or data leakage.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-8942
Severity: Critical (9.1 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

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Product | Affected Versions

WP Hotel Booking WordPress Plugin | Before 2.2.3

How the Exploit Works

The vulnerability hinges on the lack of proper server-side validation for review ratings in the WP Hotel Booking WordPress plugin. An attacker can exploit this flaw by intercepting the HTTP request that sends the review rating to the server. They can then manipulate the rating value, including sending negative or out-of-range values, before the request reaches the server. As there is no proper validation in place, the server accepts these manipulated ratings, leading to data integrity issues.

Conceptual Example Code

Below is a simple conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. In this example, the attacker intercepts the HTTP request and modifies the rating value.

POST /submit-review HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{
"review": {
"rating": -5, /* manipulated rating value */
"comment": "This is a test review."
}
}

After this manipulated request is sent, the server accepts the negative rating value due to the lack of proper validation, thus causing the system to display manipulated review ratings.
To mitigate this vulnerability, it is highly recommended that users update their WP Hotel Booking WordPress plugin to version 2.2.3 or later. If an immediate update is not possible, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can be used as temporary mitigation. Always remember that cybersecurity is not a one-time task, but a continuous process that requires vigilance and regular updates.

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Disclaimer:

The information and code presented in this article are provided for educational and defensive cybersecurity purposes only. Any conceptual or pseudocode examples are simplified representations intended to raise awareness and promote secure development and system configuration practices.

Do not use this information to attempt unauthorized access or exploit vulnerabilities on systems that you do not own or have explicit permission to test.

Ameeba and its authors do not endorse or condone malicious behavior and are not responsible for misuse of the content. Always follow ethical hacking guidelines, responsible disclosure practices, and local laws.

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