CVE-2025-29009: WooCommerce Medical Prescription RCE Flaw

CVE-2025-29009 Overview

CVE-2025-29009 is an Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerability (CWE-434) affecting the Webkul Medical Prescription Attachment Plugin for WooCommerce. This vulnerability allows attackers to upload malicious web shells to the web server without authentication, potentially leading to complete server compromise.

The flaw exists due to insufficient validation of uploaded file types within the plugin's prescription attachment functionality. Attackers can exploit this weakness to upload PHP web shells or other executable scripts, which can then be accessed to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying server.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to upload web shells to vulnerable WordPress installations, enabling full remote code execution and complete server takeover with no user interaction required.

Affected Products

• Medical Prescription Attachment Plugin for WooCommerce versions up to and including 1.2.3
• WordPress installations running the vulnerable plugin
• WooCommerce stores with the affected plugin installed

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-07-16 - CVE-2025-29009 published to NVD
• 2025-07-16 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-29009

Vulnerability Analysis

The Medical Prescription Attachment Plugin for WooCommerce contains a file upload functionality designed to allow customers to upload medical prescriptions when ordering products. However, the plugin fails to implement proper file type validation and filtering, creating a dangerous arbitrary file upload vulnerability.

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-434 (Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type). The attack can be executed remotely over the network without requiring authentication or user interaction. Due to the scope change in the vulnerability, successful exploitation can impact resources beyond the vulnerable component itself, potentially affecting the entire hosting infrastructure.

The vulnerability is particularly severe because it allows attackers to bypass normal WordPress security controls and directly upload executable PHP files to the server. Once uploaded, these files can be accessed via a direct URL, executing malicious code in the context of the web server process.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the plugin's failure to properly validate and sanitize uploaded file content and extensions. The file upload handler does not implement proper checks to restrict uploads to safe file types (such as images or PDFs), nor does it verify the actual content of uploaded files against their claimed MIME types.

Specifically, the plugin lacks:

• Server-side validation of file extensions against an allowlist
• Content-type verification to ensure uploaded files match expected formats
• File content inspection to detect embedded malicious code
• Proper file naming to prevent direct execution of uploaded scripts

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this vulnerability is network-based and requires no authentication or privileges. An attacker can exploit this flaw by crafting a malicious HTTP POST request to the vulnerable file upload endpoint, including a PHP web shell disguised or submitted as a prescription attachment.

The typical exploitation workflow involves:

1. Identifying a WordPress site running the vulnerable plugin version
2. Crafting a malicious PHP file containing web shell code
3. Submitting the malicious file through the prescription upload functionality
4. Locating the uploaded file in the WordPress uploads directory
5. Accessing the uploaded web shell to execute arbitrary commands

Since no authentication is required and the attack can be fully automated, this vulnerability poses an immediate risk to any exposed WordPress installation running the affected plugin version. Attackers can achieve complete control over the web server, access sensitive database credentials, exfiltrate customer data, or pivot to attack other systems on the network.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-29009

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected PHP files in WordPress upload directories, particularly within plugin-related folders
• Suspicious HTTP requests to unusual file paths containing .php extensions in upload directories
• Web server logs showing POST requests to the plugin's upload endpoint from unknown sources
• Newly created files with names that don't match typical prescription document naming patterns
• Outbound network connections from the web server to unknown external IP addresses

Detection Strategies

• Monitor the wp-content/uploads directory for creation of executable PHP files
• Implement file integrity monitoring on WordPress plugin directories
• Configure web application firewall (WAF) rules to block PHP file uploads through the plugin endpoint
• Review web server access logs for unusual POST requests to the medical prescription attachment endpoints
• Use WordPress security plugins to scan for known web shell signatures

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for all file upload activities on the WordPress installation
• Configure alerts for any new PHP file creation in the uploads directory structure
• Implement network monitoring to detect unusual outbound connections from web servers
• Schedule regular malware scans of the WordPress installation using security tools
• Monitor for changes to critical WordPress configuration files

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-29009

Immediate Actions Required

• Immediately disable or remove the Medical Prescription Attachment Plugin for WooCommerce if running version 1.2.3 or earlier
• Scan the WordPress uploads directory for any suspicious PHP files that may have been uploaded
• Review web server logs for evidence of exploitation attempts
• If compromise is suspected, isolate the server and conduct a thorough forensic investigation
• Change all administrative credentials and database passwords as a precaution

Patch Information

Users should check for an updated version of the Medical Prescription Attachment Plugin for WooCommerce that addresses this vulnerability. Detailed information about this vulnerability and remediation options is available through the Patchstack vulnerability database.

Until a patched version is available and verified, the safest approach is to completely deactivate and remove the vulnerable plugin from all WordPress installations.

Workarounds

• Disable the plugin entirely until a security patch is released by the vendor
• Implement server-level restrictions to prevent PHP execution in upload directories
• Configure web application firewall rules to block suspicious file upload requests
• Restrict access to the WordPress admin and upload functionality to trusted IP addresses only
• Consider using an alternative prescription upload solution with proper security controls

# Disable PHP execution in WordPress uploads directory via .htaccess
# Add to wp-content/uploads/.htaccess
<Files "*.php">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
</Files>

# Alternative: Use Apache mod_rewrite to block PHP execution
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteRule \.php$ - [F,L]
</IfModule>