CVE-2025-12573: Bookingor WordPress Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-12573 Overview

CVE-2025-12573 is a Broken Access Control vulnerability affecting the Bookingor WordPress plugin through version 1.0.12. The plugin exposes authenticated AJAX actions without implementing proper capability checks or nonce verification, allowing low-privileged authenticated users to delete plugin data without authorization.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers with minimal privileges (such as Subscriber role) can exploit this vulnerability to delete Bookingor plugin data, potentially disrupting booking functionality and causing data loss for affected WordPress sites.

Affected Products

• Bookingor WordPress plugin through version 1.0.12

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-20 - CVE-2025-12573 published to NVD
• 2026-01-20 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-12573

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from improper access control implementation in the Bookingor WordPress plugin's AJAX action handlers. WordPress plugins commonly register AJAX endpoints to handle dynamic requests, but these endpoints must implement proper security measures including capability checks to verify user permissions and nonce validation to prevent cross-site request forgery attacks.

The Bookingor plugin fails to implement these critical security controls on its authenticated AJAX actions. This allows any authenticated user, regardless of their assigned WordPress role or capabilities, to invoke administrative functions—specifically data deletion operations—that should be restricted to administrators or users with appropriate permissions.

The impact is primarily focused on data integrity, as attackers can delete booking data without authorization. While confidentiality is not directly compromised, the ability to arbitrarily remove plugin data poses significant operational risks for sites relying on this plugin for booking management.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing authorization checks in the plugin's AJAX handler functions. WordPress provides built-in functions like current_user_can() for capability verification and wp_verify_nonce() for CSRF protection, but the Bookingor plugin neglects to use these security mechanisms before processing destructive operations.

Without these checks, the plugin treats any authenticated request as valid, regardless of whether the user should have permission to perform the requested action.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires low-privilege authentication. An attacker needs only a valid WordPress account with minimal permissions (such as a Subscriber role) to exploit this vulnerability. No user interaction is required beyond the attacker initiating the malicious request.

The attack flow involves:

1. Attacker authenticates to the WordPress site with any user account
2. Attacker crafts a request to the vulnerable AJAX endpoint
3. The plugin processes the request without validating the user's capabilities
4. Bookingor data is deleted without proper authorization

Technical details and proof of concept information can be found in the WPScan Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-12573

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected deletion of Bookingor booking records or configuration data
• WordPress AJAX requests to Bookingor endpoints from low-privileged user accounts
• Unusual activity patterns from authenticated users with Subscriber or Contributor roles
• Database changes to Bookingor-related tables without corresponding administrative activity

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress admin-ajax.php requests for Bookingor-related actions from non-administrator accounts
• Implement file integrity monitoring on the Bookingor plugin directory
• Review WordPress user activity logs for suspicious patterns involving booking data modifications
• Set up database auditing to track changes to Bookingor plugin tables

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive WordPress logging that captures AJAX requests and associated user accounts
• Configure alerts for data deletion events in booking-related database tables
• Regularly audit user roles and permissions to identify potentially compromised accounts
• Monitor for unusual authentication patterns that may indicate account compromise attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-12573

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Bookingor WordPress plugin to a patched version when available
• Review recent Bookingor data for signs of unauthorized deletion
• Consider temporarily deactivating the plugin until a fix is released
• Audit user accounts and remove unnecessary authenticated users to reduce attack surface

Patch Information

Check the WPScan Vulnerability Report for the latest information on available patches. Plugin updates should be applied through the WordPress dashboard or via WP-CLI once a fixed version is released.

Workarounds

• Restrict WordPress user registrations to prevent unauthorized account creation
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block or monitor suspicious AJAX requests to Bookingor endpoints
• Use WordPress security plugins to add additional access control layers
• Consider temporarily deactivating the Bookingor plugin if booking functionality is not critical

# Deactivate the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI until patched
wp plugin deactivate bookingor

# List users with authenticated access to identify potential attack surface
wp user list --fields=ID,user_login,user_email,role

# Check WordPress database for recent modifications to Bookingor tables
wp db query "SHOW TABLES LIKE '%bookingor%';"