CVE-2025-0764
📋 TL;DR
The wpForo Forum WordPress plugin has an arbitrary file read vulnerability that allows authenticated attackers with subscriber-level access or higher to read any file on the server. This affects all versions up to and including 2.4.1. Attackers can potentially access sensitive configuration files, credentials, or other sensitive data.
💻 Affected Systems
- wpForo Forum WordPress plugin
📦 What is this software?
Wpforo Forum by Gvectors
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers read sensitive files like wp-config.php containing database credentials, SSH keys, or other configuration files, leading to complete system compromise.
Likely Case
Attackers read WordPress configuration files to obtain database credentials, then escalate access to take over the WordPress site.
If Mitigated
With proper file permissions and network segmentation, attackers can only read non-sensitive files, limiting damage to information disclosure.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is technically simple. Public proof-of-concept code is available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.4.2
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3245711/wpforo
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find wpForo Forum and click 'Update Now'. 4. Verify version is 2.4.2 or higher.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable wpForo plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patching is possible
wp plugin deactivate wpforo
Restrict user registration
allPrevent new user accounts from being created to limit attack surface
wp option update users_can_register 0
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict file permissions (config files should be 400 or 600)
- Monitor for suspicious file read attempts in WordPress and web server logs
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel → Plugins → wpForo Forum version. If version is 2.4.1 or lower, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get wpforo --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify wpForo version is 2.4.2 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual file read requests in wpForo plugin logs
- Multiple failed authentication attempts followed by successful login and file access patterns
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to wpForo endpoints with file path parameters
- Unusual outbound data transfers after authenticated sessions
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND "wpforo" AND ("file" OR "read" OR "path")