CVE-2025-14742: WP Recipe Maker Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-14742 Overview

The WP Recipe Maker plugin for WordPress contains an authorization bypass vulnerability due to missing capability checks on the ajax_search_recipes and ajax_get_recipe functions. This flaw affects all versions up to and including 10.2.3, allowing authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access or higher to retrieve sensitive recipe information that should be restricted, including draft, pending, and private recipes.

Critical Impact

Low-privileged WordPress users can bypass authorization controls to access unpublished and private recipe content, potentially exposing confidential business information or pre-release content.

Affected Products

• WP Recipe Maker plugin for WordPress versions up to and including 10.2.3
• WordPress installations with WP Recipe Maker plugin installed
• Sites with registered subscriber-level users

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-25 - CVE CVE-2025-14742 published to NVD
• 2026-02-25 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-14742

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key), which occurs when an application fails to properly verify that the user requesting a resource has the appropriate permissions to access it. The flaw exists in the class-wprm-recipe-manager.php file within the WP Recipe Maker plugin.

The vulnerable functions ajax_search_recipes and ajax_get_recipe are designed to handle AJAX requests for recipe data. However, these functions lack proper capability checks to verify whether the requesting user has sufficient permissions to view the requested content. WordPress implements a role-based access control system where Subscribers have minimal privileges and should not be able to access draft, pending, or private posts created by other users.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the absence of capability checks in the AJAX handler functions. When processing recipe search and retrieval requests, the plugin fails to verify the user's capabilities using WordPress functions like current_user_can(). This oversight allows any authenticated user, regardless of their assigned role, to query and retrieve recipe data that should only be accessible to users with elevated privileges such as Editors or Administrators.

The vulnerable code paths can be found in the plugin source code where AJAX actions are registered without corresponding permission callbacks.

Attack Vector

An attacker with a valid WordPress Subscriber account can exploit this vulnerability by crafting AJAX requests to the vulnerable endpoints. The attack is network-based and requires low complexity to execute. The attacker would:

1. Authenticate to the WordPress site with any valid user account (Subscriber level is sufficient)
2. Craft AJAX POST requests targeting the ajax_search_recipes or ajax_get_recipe actions
3. Include parameters to search for or retrieve specific recipes by ID or search terms
4. Receive recipe data in the response, including content from draft, pending, and private recipes

This vulnerability enables unauthorized information disclosure but does not allow modification or deletion of content. The attack requires no user interaction and can be performed programmatically to enumerate all accessible recipe content.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-14742

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual volume of AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with action=wprm_search_recipes or action=wprm_get_recipe parameters
• Access logs showing Subscriber-level users making repeated recipe lookup requests
• Unexpected access patterns to recipe content that correlates with low-privileged user sessions
• Database query logs showing recipe retrieval operations initiated by Subscriber accounts

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress AJAX endpoints for suspicious patterns of recipe data requests from low-privileged users
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and alert on unusual admin-ajax.php request volumes
• Enable detailed WordPress activity logging to track user actions and recipe access attempts
• Review user access patterns for anomalies where Subscribers access content they shouldn't be able to view

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure security plugins to log all AJAX requests with action parameters related to WP Recipe Maker
• Set up alerts for high-frequency recipe lookup operations from individual user accounts
• Implement rate limiting on AJAX endpoints to slow down potential enumeration attacks
• Regularly audit user activity logs to identify unauthorized data access attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-14742

Immediate Actions Required

• Update WP Recipe Maker plugin to a version newer than 10.2.3 that includes the security fix
• Review WordPress user accounts and remove unnecessary Subscriber-level access where possible
• Audit access logs for signs of prior exploitation
• Consider temporarily disabling the plugin if immediate update is not possible

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in the plugin changeset. Site administrators should update the WP Recipe Maker plugin through the WordPress admin dashboard or via WP-CLI. For detailed vulnerability information, refer to the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Workarounds

• Restrict user registration on WordPress sites to prevent unauthorized Subscriber account creation
• Implement additional access control through a security plugin that can filter AJAX requests
• Use a Web Application Firewall to block suspicious requests to the vulnerable endpoints
• Remove or demote unnecessary user accounts to reduce the attack surface

If immediate patching is not possible, administrators can implement temporary mitigation by adding capability checks to the plugin functions. However, updating to the patched version is the recommended remediation approach.