400,000 WordPress Sites at Risk: Critical Plugin Flaw Exposed

A serious vulnerability, known as CVE-2025-24000, has been identified in the Post SMTP WordPress plugin, which is utilized by over 400,000 websites. This vulnerability allows low-privileged users to take control of administrator accounts due to broken access controls in the plugin’s REST API. The flaw, rated with a CVSS score of 8.8, has been addressed in version 3.3.0 of the plugin.

Image courtesy of Patchstack

Patchstack reported that the vulnerability stems from the plugin’s get_logs_permission function, which inadequately verifies user privileges. This oversight permits even basic users to perform critical actions such as:

• Viewing full email logs, including message bodies
• Resending previously sent emails
• Viewing email count statistics

The most critical risk is the potential for low-privileged users to intercept password reset emails, leading to an administrative account takeover. Administrators must upgrade to version 3.3.0 or later promptly to mitigate this risk. For further details, see Patchstack.

Vulnerabilities in POST SMTP Mailer Plugin

Security researchers have uncovered two significant vulnerabilities in the POST SMTP Mailer plugin, which is used by over 300,000 websites. The first flaw enables attackers to reset the authentication API key and access sensitive logs, including password reset emails. This allows a malicious actor to gain unauthorized access and potentially publish harmful content or lock out legitimate users.

The second vulnerability allows script injection into web pages. Researchers notified the plugin developers on December 8, 2023, and they released a patch on January 1, 2024. However, approximately 150,000 sites remain at risk as only 53% of installations have updated. To check plugin statistics, visit the WordPress documentation.

Orbit Fox Plugin Vulnerabilities

The Orbit Fox plugin has two critical vulnerabilities that could lead to site takeovers. The first is a privilege escalation flaw, rated 9.9 on the CVSS scale. It allows authenticated users with lower-level access to elevate their privileges to administrator status. The second vulnerability involves an authenticated stored XSS issue, permitting attackers to inject malicious JavaScript into posts.

Image courtesy of Threatpost

The privilege escalation flaw is associated with the registration widget, which enables site administrators to set user roles. Developers need to enable server-side protections to prevent unauthorized role changes. The XSS vulnerability allows lower-level users to execute harmful scripts that could redirect visitors or create new administrative accounts.

Both vulnerabilities were patched in version 2.10.3, and sites running versions 2.10.2 and below should update as soon as possible. For further reading, visit Wordfence.

Importance of Regular Updates

Maintaining regular updates for plugins is crucial for website security. Vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins can lead to severe consequences, including full site takeovers. It is imperative for site administrators to check for updates frequently and ensure that they are utilizing the latest versions to protect against potential exploits.

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