CVE-2025-1508: WP Crowdfunding Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-1508 Overview

CVE-2025-1508 affects the WP Crowdfunding plugin for WordPress, developed by Themeum. The vulnerability stems from a missing capability check on the download_data action in all versions up to and including 2.1.14. Authenticated attackers with subscriber-level access or above can download all of a site's post content when WooCommerce is installed on the same instance. The flaw is classified as Missing Authorization [CWE-862] and carries a network attack vector with low privileges required and no user interaction.

Critical Impact
Any authenticated user, including low-privilege subscribers, can exfiltrate all WordPress post content through the unprotected download_data action when WooCommerce is active.

Affected Products

Themeum WP Crowdfunding plugin for WordPress (all versions ≤ 2.1.14)
WordPress sites with WP Crowdfunding installed alongside WooCommerce
Deployments exposing subscriber-level or higher registration

Discovery Timeline

2025-03-12 - CVE-2025-1508 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-1508

Vulnerability Analysis

The WP Crowdfunding plugin exposes a download_data action handler used to export plugin-related data. The handler does not verify that the requesting user holds the required capability to perform an export. When WooCommerce is installed, the action path enumerates and returns post content across the site rather than restricting output to the plugin's own scope. This allows any authenticated user with subscriber privileges or above to invoke the action and retrieve site post content that would otherwise be protected by role-based access control.

Root Cause

The root cause is a missing capability check [CWE-862] on a privileged plugin action. WordPress requires developers to call current_user_can() or equivalent capability validation before serving sensitive data. The download_data action handler in WP Crowdfunding versions through 2.1.14 omits this check. As a result, the authorization boundary between subscribers and administrators collapses for this specific action.

Attack Vector

Exploitation is remote and requires only a valid low-privilege account. An attacker registers or obtains a subscriber account on a target site that has both WP Crowdfunding and WooCommerce installed. The attacker then issues an authenticated request to the plugin's download_data action endpoint. The server returns exportable post content without validating the caller's role. See the Wordfence Vulnerability Report ID 70a93afa for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-1508

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected requests to WP Crowdfunding admin-ajax or REST endpoints invoking the download_data action from subscriber-level session cookies.
Large outbound HTTP responses containing serialized post content correlated with low-privilege user sessions.
Newly registered subscriber accounts issuing plugin action calls shortly after registration.

Detection Strategies

Inspect web server access logs for POST or GET requests to admin-ajax.php with action=download_data originating from non-administrator users.
Correlate WordPress user role with request payloads through application-layer logging or a WAF.
Alert on anomalous data export volumes tied to subscriber or customer accounts.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress audit logging for AJAX action invocations and export operations.
Forward web server and application logs to a centralized SIEM for role-versus-action correlation.
Monitor plugin version inventories across WordPress fleets to identify hosts still running WP Crowdfunding ≤ 2.1.14.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-1508

Immediate Actions Required

Update the WP Crowdfunding plugin to a version later than 2.1.14 on all affected WordPress sites.
Audit existing subscriber and customer accounts for anomalous activity against the download_data action.
Restrict open user registration on sites that do not require public subscriber signups.

Patch Information

Themeum published a fix in the WP Crowdfunding plugin repository. Review the WordPress Plugin Change Log for the changeset that adds the missing capability enforcement. Administrators should upgrade through the WordPress plugin manager or by downloading the current release from the WP Crowdfunding Plugin Overview page.

Workarounds

Disable the WP Crowdfunding plugin until an update can be applied if patching is not immediately possible.
Block unauthenticated and subscriber-level requests to admin-ajax.php with action=download_data at a web application firewall.
Temporarily disable new user registration or downgrade existing low-trust accounts to prevent exploitation.

bash

# WAF rule example: block download_data action for non-admin sessions
# (adapt to your WAF syntax)
SecRule ARGS:action "@streq download_data" \
    "id:1005081508,phase:2,deny,status:403,log,\
    msg:'Block WP Crowdfunding download_data (CVE-2025-1508)'"