CVE-2025-0181: WP Foodbakery Privilege Escalation Flaw

CVE-2025-0181 Overview

The WP Foodbakery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation via account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 4.7. This critical authentication bypass vulnerability exists because the plugin fails to properly validate a user's identity before setting the current user and their authentication cookie. This weakness allows unauthenticated attackers to gain access to any target user's account, including administrator accounts, potentially leading to complete site compromise.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can take over administrator accounts without any credentials, leading to complete WordPress site compromise.

Affected Products

• WP Foodbakery plugin for WordPress versions up to and including 4.7
• WordPress sites using the Food Bakery theme with the vulnerable plugin
• Restaurant and bakery websites built on the Food Bakery WordPress theme

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-02-11 - CVE CVE-2025-0181 published to NVD
• 2025-02-11 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-0181

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-288 (Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel). The core issue lies in the WP Foodbakery plugin's authentication handling mechanism, which fails to implement proper identity verification before establishing user sessions.

When processing authentication requests, the plugin sets the current user and generates authentication cookies without adequately verifying that the request originates from the legitimate account owner. This design flaw creates an alternate authentication path that bypasses WordPress's standard authentication controls.

The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires no authentication and can be exploited remotely over the network. An attacker can craft malicious requests to impersonate any user on the system, including administrators, without needing any prior access or credentials.

Root Cause

The root cause stems from improper validation logic in the user identity verification process. The plugin's authentication flow contains a flaw where user identity tokens or session parameters are accepted without sufficient verification of their authenticity. This allows attackers to manipulate these parameters to assume the identity of legitimate users.

The vulnerable code path allows setting the current_user and generating valid WordPress authentication cookies based on attacker-controlled input, rather than requiring proper credential verification through WordPress's secure authentication APIs.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires no user interaction or prior authentication. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted HTTP requests to the WordPress installation running the vulnerable WP Foodbakery plugin.

The exploitation flow typically involves:

1. Identifying a target WordPress site using the WP Foodbakery plugin
2. Enumerating valid usernames (particularly administrator accounts)
3. Crafting a malicious request that manipulates the authentication bypass mechanism
4. Receiving valid authentication cookies for the target user account
5. Using the stolen session to access the WordPress admin panel with full privileges

Since the vulnerability allows targeting administrator accounts, successful exploitation grants attackers complete control over the WordPress installation, including the ability to modify content, install malicious plugins, access sensitive data, and potentially compromise the underlying server.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-0181

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected administrator logins from unfamiliar IP addresses or geographic locations
• Unusual authentication cookie generation events without corresponding login form submissions
• Multiple user sessions created in rapid succession for high-privilege accounts
• Suspicious HTTP requests to WP Foodbakery plugin endpoints with manipulated user identity parameters
• New administrator accounts or privilege changes not authorized by legitimate administrators

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress authentication logs for login events that bypass the standard wp-login.php flow
• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block exploitation attempts targeting WP Foodbakery endpoints
• Review access logs for requests to plugin-specific endpoints containing unusual user ID or identity parameters
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions to identify unauthorized session creation activities
• Enable WordPress security plugins that monitor for privilege escalation events

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure alerts for administrator account access from new IP addresses or devices
• Implement session monitoring to detect concurrent sessions for single user accounts
• Set up log aggregation for WordPress authentication events and plugin activity
• Monitor for changes to user roles and capabilities, especially privilege escalation to administrator
• Review plugin update notifications and maintain awareness of WP Foodbakery security releases

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-0181

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the WP Foodbakery plugin to a patched version immediately if one is available
• Temporarily disable the WP Foodbakery plugin if no patch is available until a security update is released
• Review administrator accounts for any unauthorized access or changes
• Rotate authentication secrets and force re-authentication for all administrator accounts
• Implement additional authentication controls such as two-factor authentication (2FA) for all administrator accounts

Patch Information

Organizations using the WP Foodbakery plugin should check for updates through the WordPress admin dashboard or the ThemeForest marketplace. Additional vulnerability details are available in the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Administrators should prioritize applying security updates as soon as they become available and verify that the installed version is newer than 4.7.

Workarounds

• Disable the WP Foodbakery plugin entirely until a patched version is available
• Implement IP-based access restrictions for WordPress admin panel access (/wp-admin/)
• Deploy a web application firewall with rules to filter malicious requests to plugin endpoints
• Restrict direct access to plugin directories and files via server configuration
• Consider temporarily taking affected sites offline if they contain sensitive data and no patch is available

# Configuration example
# Apache .htaccess example to restrict admin access by IP
<Files wp-login.php>
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from YOUR.TRUSTED.IP.ADDRESS
</Files>

# Block direct access to plugin directories
<Directory "/var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/foodbakery">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 127.0.0.1
</Directory>