CVE-2025-14064
📋 TL;DR
The BuddyTask WordPress plugin has missing capability checks on AJAX endpoints, allowing authenticated users with Subscriber-level access or higher to view, create, modify, and delete task boards belonging to any BuddyPress group, including private and hidden groups they are not members of. This affects all WordPress sites using BuddyTask up to version 1.3.0.
💻 Affected Systems
- BuddyTask WordPress Plugin
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could delete all task boards, modify critical project data, or exfiltrate sensitive information from private groups, potentially disrupting business operations and causing data loss.
Likely Case
Unauthorized users accessing and modifying task boards in groups they shouldn't have access to, leading to data integrity issues and potential information disclosure.
If Mitigated
Limited to authenticated users only, with proper access controls preventing escalation beyond intended permissions.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is straightforward once authenticated. Subscriber-level access is sufficient.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.3.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/buddytask
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find BuddyTask plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If no update available, deactivate and delete plugin, then install latest version from WordPress repository.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable BuddyTask Plugin
linuxTemporarily deactivate the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate buddytask
Restrict User Registration
linuxPrevent new user registrations to limit attack surface
wp option update users_can_register 0
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Deactivate BuddyTask plugin immediately
- Implement network-level restrictions to limit access to WordPress AJAX endpoints
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for BuddyTask version. If version is 1.3.0 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get buddytask --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After update, verify BuddyTask version is 1.3.1 or later in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual AJAX requests to BuddyTask endpoints from non-admin users
- Multiple task board modifications from users not in corresponding groups
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with 'action' parameter containing 'buddytask' from unauthorized users
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND "admin-ajax.php" AND "buddytask" AND NOT user_role="administrator"🔗 References
- https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/862.html
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/buddytask/tags/1.3.0/buddytask.php#L458
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/buddytask/trunk/buddytask.php#L458
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/buddytask/trunk/buddytask.php#L666
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/buddytask/trunk/buddytask.php#L763
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/buddytask/trunk/buddytask.php#L840
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3416754/
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/0dfe0947-5790-49ba-aa3d-6bc61c12b355?source=cve
