CVE-2025-23862
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows attackers to bypass authorization controls in the Contact Form 7 Anti Spambot WordPress plugin, potentially accessing administrative functions without proper authentication. It affects all WordPress sites running the plugin from any version up to and including 1.0.1.
💻 Affected Systems
- Contact Form 7 Anti Spambot 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 gain administrative access to WordPress sites, modify plugin settings, inject malicious code, or compromise the entire website.
Likely Case
Unauthorized users could modify anti-spam settings, disable protection, or access plugin configuration data they shouldn't have access to.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and network segmentation, impact would be limited to the plugin's functionality without affecting core WordPress or other plugins.
🎯 Exploit Status
Broken access control vulnerabilities are typically easy to exploit once discovered, requiring minimal technical skill.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.0.2 or later
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Contact Form 7 Anti Spambot'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If no update, deactivate and delete plugin, then install fresh version from WordPress repository.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily deactivate the vulnerable plugin until patched version is available
wp plugin deactivate contact-form-7-anti-spambot
Restrict Admin Access
linuxLimit WordPress admin access to specific IP addresses only
Add to .htaccess: Order Deny,Allow\nDeny from all\nAllow from 192.168.1.100
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove the Contact Form 7 Anti Spambot plugin completely and use alternative anti-spam solutions
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block unauthorized access to plugin admin endpoints
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for 'Contact Form 7 Anti Spambot' version 1.0.1 or earlierCheck Version:
wp plugin get contact-form-7-anti-spambot --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 1.0.2 or later in WordPress admin panel📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with plugin-specific actions
- Multiple failed authorization attempts followed by successful plugin admin access
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic patterns to WordPress admin endpoints from non-admin IP addresses
- HTTP requests containing 'action=cf7a_' parameters from unauthorized sources
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND (uri_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND (http_method="POST" AND (param_action="cf7a_" OR user_agent NOT CONTAINS "admin")))