{"id":57363,"date":"2025-07-05T09:31:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T09:31:11","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-08-07T11:03:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T17:03:26","slug":"cve-2025-52817-authorization-bypass-in-zealousweb-abandoned-contact-form-7-leads-to-potential-system-compromise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-52817-authorization-bypass-in-zealousweb-abandoned-contact-form-7-leads-to-potential-system-compromise\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2025-52817: Authorization Bypass in ZealousWeb Abandoned Contact Form 7 Leads to Potential System Compromise<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In this post, we&#8217;ll delve into the details of a particularly severe vulnerability, CVE-2025-52817, that resides in the Abandoned Contact Form 7, a product of ZealousWeb. This vulnerability is of significant concern because it allows malicious actors to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, leading to potential system compromise and data leakage. Given the widespread use of contact forms on websites for user interaction, this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-4334-critical-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-simple-user-registration-plugin-for-wordpress\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"64954\">vulnerability affects a broad user<\/a> base, making it an urgent issue to address.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2025-52817<br \/>\nSeverity: High (8.2 CVSS Score)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Network<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: None<br \/>\nUser Interaction: None<br \/>\nImpact: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-5868-critical-vulnerability-in-rt-thread-leading-to-system-compromise-and-data-leakage\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"63863\">System compromise and data<\/a> leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-926022277\" 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: 700px;\">\r\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top: 0; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; display: flex; align-items: center;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; margin-right: 8px;\">\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: 40px; height: 40px;\" \/>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    A new way to communicate\r\n  <\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 12px;\">\r\n    Ameeba Chat is built on encrypted identity, not personal profiles.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 16px;\">\r\n    Message, call, share files, and coordinate with identities kept separate.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ul style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin-bottom: 20px;\">\r\n    <li>\u2022 Encrypted identity<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Ameeba Chat authenticates access<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Aliases and categories<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, and files<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Secure notes for sensitive information<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\r\n    Private communication, rethought.\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: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Download Ameeba Chat<\/a>\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ffffff; color: #ffffff; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Learn More<\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n<p>ZealousWeb Abandoned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-7340-critical-arbitrary-file-upload-vulnerability-in-ht-contact-form-widget-for-wordpress\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"66388\">Contact Form<\/a> 7 | All versions up to 2.0<\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Due to missing authorization checks in the Abandoned Contact Form 7, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-3090-unauthenticated-remote-attack-leading-to-potential-data-leakage-and-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"64955\">attacker can exploit the system<\/a> by sending specially crafted requests to the system. As the system lacks sufficient access control measures, these requests are processed, allowing the attacker to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-32975-quest-kace-systems-management-appliance-authentication-bypass-vulnerability\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"64134\">bypass the system&#8217;s<\/a> defenses. This, in turn, enables the attacker to gain unauthorized access to sensitive system resources, which can result in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-5866-critical-vulnerability-in-rt-thread-5-1-0-potentially-leading-to-system-compromise-or-data-leakage\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"63805\">system compromise and potential data<\/a> leakage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-1853729613\" 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&#8217;s a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This is a sample HTTP request that a malicious actor could use:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">POST \/abandoned_contact_form_7_endpoint HTTP\/1.1\nHost: target.example.com\nContent-Type: application\/json\n{ &quot;malicious_payload&quot;: &quot;Exploit command\/Code here&quot; }<\/code><\/pre>\n<p><strong>Mitigation and Prevention<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The best way to protect your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-5867-critical-vulnerability-in-rt-thread-5-1-0-leading-to-system-compromise-or-data-leakage\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"63898\">system from this vulnerability<\/a> is to apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available. If the patch is not yet available or cannot be applied immediately, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as temporary mitigation. These tools can help identify and block the malformed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-48921-cross-site-request-forgery-vulnerability-in-drupal-open-social\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"65047\">requests that exploit this vulnerability<\/a>. Regularly updating security protocols and performing rigorous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-32281-high-severity-missing-authorization-vulnerability-in-focuxtheme-wpkit-for-elementor\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"65304\">authorization checks can also help prevent similar vulnerabilities<\/a> in the future.<br \/>\nIn conclusion, while CVE-2025-52817 is a severe threat, by staying <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2021-41691-sql-injection-vulnerability-in-os4ed-open-source-information-system-community\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"64169\">informed about the latest vulnerabilities<\/a> and applying the appropriate mitigations, system administrators can effectively safeguard their systems against potential breaches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview In this post, we&#8217;ll delve into the details of a particularly severe vulnerability, CVE-2025-52817, that resides in the Abandoned Contact Form 7, a product of ZealousWeb. This vulnerability is of significant concern because it allows malicious actors to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, leading to potential system compromise and data leakage. Given [&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":[],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-57363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57363","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=57363"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60416,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57363\/revisions\/60416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57363"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=57363"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=57363"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=57363"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=57363"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=57363"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=57363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}