CVE-2025-2807: Motors WordPress Plugin RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-2807 Overview

CVE-2025-2807 affects the Motors – Car Dealership & Classified Listings Plugin for WordPress, developed by StyleMixThemes. The vulnerability resides in the mvl_setup_wizard_install_plugin() function, which lacks a capability check. All plugin versions up to and including 1.4.64 are affected. Authenticated attackers holding Subscriber-level access or above can install and activate arbitrary plugins on the target site. Successful exploitation can lead to remote code execution by chaining the installation of a vulnerable or malicious plugin. The flaw is classified under [CWE-862] Missing Authorization.

Critical Impact
Subscriber-level users can install arbitrary WordPress plugins, enabling full site compromise and remote code execution.

Affected Products

Motors – Car Dealership & Classified Listings Plugin for WordPress versions 1.4.64 and earlier
StyleMixThemes plugin distributions installed on WordPress sites
Any WordPress instance allowing Subscriber registration with the vulnerable plugin active

Discovery Timeline

2025-04-08 - CVE-2025-2807 published to NVD
2025-08-08 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-2807

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from a missing capability check in the mvl_setup_wizard_install_plugin() AJAX handler. The setup wizard endpoint is registered to handle plugin installation requests during initial configuration. The function fails to validate whether the requesting user has the install_plugins or manage_options capability. WordPress exposes AJAX endpoints to any authenticated session, including low-privilege Subscribers. As a result, the endpoint executes plugin installation logic on behalf of users who should not have administrative permissions. Once an attacker installs an arbitrary plugin, the same endpoint activates it, loading attacker-controlled code into the WordPress runtime.

Root Cause

The root cause is broken access control [CWE-862] in the setup wizard AJAX action. The handler omits a current_user_can() check and does not verify an administrative nonce in a way that restricts access to privileged users. Authentication alone is treated as sufficient authorization, allowing any logged-in account to invoke administrative functionality.

Attack Vector

An attacker first obtains a Subscriber account, either through open registration or compromised credentials. The attacker then sends an authenticated POST request to the WordPress AJAX endpoint targeting the vulnerable setup wizard action. The request specifies an arbitrary plugin slug for installation and activation. WordPress fetches the plugin from the official repository or, depending on parameters, from attacker-supplied sources. After activation, the attacker leverages known vulnerabilities in the installed plugin to achieve remote code execution on the underlying server.

For technical details of the vulnerable handler, refer to the WordPress Plugin Change Log and the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-2807

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected plugins appearing in wp-content/plugins/ that were not installed by administrators
AJAX POST requests to admin-ajax.php referencing the mvl_setup_wizard_install_plugin action from non-administrator user sessions
New active plugins recorded in the active_plugins option of wp_options without a corresponding administrator audit trail
PHP files written under wp-content/plugins/ with recent timestamps following Subscriber login events

Detection Strategies

Monitor admin-ajax.php access logs for requests containing action=mvl_setup_wizard_install_plugin correlated with Subscriber session cookies
Inspect WordPress audit logs for plugin installation or activation events performed by non-administrator accounts
Compare the installed plugin list against an approved baseline at scheduled intervals

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable file integrity monitoring on the wp-content/plugins/ directory to flag new or modified plugin files
Forward WordPress and web server logs to a centralized log platform for correlation with authentication events
Alert on creation of new administrative users or capability changes occurring shortly after Subscriber-initiated AJAX activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-2807

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Motors – Car Dealership & Classified Listings Plugin to a version newer than 1.4.64 that includes the capability check fix
Audit all installed plugins and remove any that were not approved by administrators
Review WordPress user accounts and disable open registration if it is not required
Rotate administrator credentials and invalidate active sessions if unauthorized plugin activity is detected

Patch Information

StyleMixThemes addressed the issue in the plugin code commit referenced in the WordPress Plugin Change Log. The fix adds a capability check to the mvl_setup_wizard_install_plugin() function to ensure only users with plugin installation privileges can invoke the action.

Workarounds

Restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php from untrusted networks using a web application firewall rule targeting the vulnerable action name
Disable Subscriber-level self-registration via the WordPress General Settings until the plugin is patched
Temporarily deactivate the Motors plugin on production sites where an immediate update is not possible

bash

# Configuration example: block the vulnerable AJAX action at the web server
# nginx rule to deny requests targeting the vulnerable handler
location = /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php {
    if ($arg_action = "mvl_setup_wizard_install_plugin") {
        return 403;
    }
}