CVE-2025-24652 Overview
CVE-2025-24652 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the revmakx WP Duplicate plugin (local-sync) for WordPress. The flaw stems from incorrectly configured access control security levels and affects all versions of WP Duplicate up to and including 1.1.6. An authenticated user with low privileges can invoke plugin functionality that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles. Successful exploitation impacts data integrity and availability. The vulnerability is tracked under CWE-862: Missing Authorization.
Critical Impact
Authenticated low-privilege users on WordPress sites running WP Duplicate ≤ 1.1.6 can trigger plugin operations they are not authorized to perform, affecting site integrity and availability.
Affected Products
- revmakx WP Duplicate plugin (local-sync) for WordPress
- All versions from initial release through 1.1.6
- WordPress sites with the plugin activated and accessible to authenticated users
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-01-24 - CVE-2025-24652 published to the National Vulnerability Database
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-24652
Vulnerability Analysis
The WP Duplicate plugin exposes functionality intended for administrative use without enforcing correct capability checks. The plugin registers action handlers that verify a user is authenticated but do not confirm the user holds the appropriate WordPress capability (for example, manage_options or activate_plugins). As a result, any authenticated user, including low-privilege roles such as Subscriber or Contributor, can invoke these handlers.
Because the plugin duplicates or synchronizes site content, unauthorized invocation can modify or replicate data belonging to the site. This introduces integrity and availability risks without direct data exposure, consistent with the impact profile of this class of broken access control issue.
Root Cause
The root cause is a missing authorization check (CWE-862). The plugin relies on nonce validation or authentication state alone rather than pairing those checks with a current_user_can() capability check. WordPress security guidance requires both nonce verification and capability enforcement on privileged AJAX and admin-post endpoints.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires network access to the target WordPress site and valid low-privilege credentials. An attacker authenticates as a low-privilege user and then sends crafted requests to the affected plugin endpoints. No user interaction is required beyond the attacker's own authenticated session. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for technical details on the affected endpoints.
No public proof-of-concept exploit code has been released, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
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Stop Identity AttacksDetection Methods for CVE-2025-24652
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected creation, duplication, or synchronization of WordPress content, posts, or configuration entries authored by non-administrator accounts
- HTTP POST requests to admin-ajax.php or plugin-specific endpoints originating from Subscriber, Contributor, or Author accounts
- Newly created database tables, backup archives, or export files in wp-content/ that cannot be attributed to an administrator action
Detection Strategies
- Inventory WordPress installations and identify sites running WP Duplicate (local-sync) at version 1.1.6 or earlier
- Review web server access logs for authenticated requests to WP Duplicate action handlers from low-privilege user sessions
- Correlate WordPress user activity logs with plugin operations to identify capability mismatches
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable a WordPress audit logging plugin to record role-scoped activity and AJAX action invocations
- Alert on new user registrations followed shortly by requests to plugin administrative endpoints
- Monitor filesystem changes under wp-content/uploads/ and plugin directories for unexpected archive or export files
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24652
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the WP Duplicate plugin to a version later than 1.1.6 once the vendor publishes a fix
- If no patched version is available, deactivate and remove the plugin from all affected WordPress sites
- Audit WordPress user accounts and remove or downgrade unused low-privilege accounts that could be leveraged for exploitation
- Rotate credentials for any accounts suspected of unauthorized activity
Patch Information
Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for current vendor patch status. At the time of publication, the advisory identifies all versions up to 1.1.6 as affected. Verify the installed plugin version against vendor release notes before returning the plugin to production.
Workarounds
- Disable open user registration on affected WordPress sites to limit the pool of authenticated attackers
- Restrict access to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php at the web application firewall for non-administrator sessions where feasible
- Apply a virtual patch through a WordPress-aware WAF that blocks requests to the vulnerable plugin action handlers
- Enforce strong password and multi-factor authentication policies for all WordPress accounts to reduce credential compromise risk
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
