CVE-2025-24577: Ays-pro Poll Maker Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-24577 Overview

CVE-2025-24577 is a missing authorization vulnerability affecting the Ays Pro Poll Maker plugin for WordPress. This broken access control flaw allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially gaining unauthorized access to administrative functions and sensitive poll data without proper authentication or authorization checks.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass access control mechanisms and potentially compromise the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of WordPress installations running the affected Poll Maker plugin.

Affected Products

• Ays Pro Poll Maker versions through 5.5.0
• WordPress installations with the Poll Maker plugin (free edition)
• All configurations of the affected plugin versions

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-04-17 - CVE-2025-24577 published to NVD
• 2025-05-28 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24577

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), where the Poll Maker plugin fails to implement proper authorization checks on certain functionality. The absence of proper access control validation allows unauthorized users to interact with protected plugin features that should be restricted to authenticated administrators.

The vulnerability allows attackers to exploit the plugin's access control mechanisms remotely without requiring any user interaction or prior authentication. When successfully exploited, an attacker can potentially access, modify, or delete poll data, alter plugin settings, or leverage the compromised plugin as a pivot point for further attacks against the WordPress installation.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-24577 is the absence of proper authorization checks within the Poll Maker plugin's request handling logic. The plugin fails to verify whether a user has the appropriate permissions before processing certain requests, allowing unauthenticated or low-privileged users to perform actions that should be restricted to administrators.

This type of broken access control vulnerability typically occurs when developers assume that hiding functionality from the user interface is sufficient protection, without implementing server-side authorization validation.

Attack Vector

The attack is carried out over the network against WordPress sites running the vulnerable Poll Maker plugin. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests directly to the plugin's endpoints, bypassing normal access control mechanisms. Since no authentication is required, any remote attacker can potentially exploit this vulnerability.

The exploitation typically involves:

1. Identifying WordPress installations running the vulnerable Poll Maker plugin
2. Crafting requests to plugin endpoints that lack proper authorization checks
3. Executing unauthorized actions such as accessing sensitive data or modifying plugin configurations

For detailed technical information about this vulnerability, refer to the Patchstack vulnerability disclosure.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24577

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or unauthorized modifications to poll data or plugin settings
• Unexpected HTTP requests to Poll Maker plugin endpoints from unauthenticated sessions
• Web server logs showing access to plugin administrative functions without corresponding authentication events
• Changes to poll configurations or results that were not initiated by authorized administrators

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress access logs for requests to Poll Maker plugin endpoints that do not have associated authentication tokens
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the Poll Maker plugin
• Deploy file integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized changes to plugin files or database entries
• Utilize WordPress security plugins that can detect and alert on broken access control attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging for all WordPress plugin activity and review logs regularly
• Configure alerts for any access to administrative plugin functions from non-authenticated sessions
• Monitor for unusual patterns in poll data modifications or access attempts
• Implement real-time monitoring of WordPress database changes related to the Poll Maker plugin

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24577

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Ays Pro Poll Maker plugin to a version newer than 5.5.0 that addresses this vulnerability
• Review recent poll data and plugin settings for any signs of unauthorized modification
• Audit WordPress access logs for evidence of exploitation attempts
• Consider temporarily disabling the Poll Maker plugin until a patched version can be applied

Patch Information

Organizations should update to the latest version of the Poll Maker plugin that addresses this broken access control vulnerability. Check the WordPress plugin repository or the official Ays Pro website for the most recent security updates. The Patchstack advisory provides additional details on the vulnerability and remediation steps.

Workarounds

• Implement Web Application Firewall rules to restrict access to Poll Maker plugin endpoints
• Use WordPress security plugins to add additional access control layers
• Restrict access to the WordPress admin area by IP address where feasible
• Monitor and audit all plugin activity until a permanent patch can be applied

# Example: Restrict access to plugin endpoints via .htaccess
# Add to WordPress .htaccess file to limit plugin access by IP
<FilesMatch "poll-maker">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from YOUR_TRUSTED_IP
</FilesMatch>