CVE-2025-31603 Overview
CVE-2025-31603 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the moshensky CF7 Spreadsheets WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all versions of cf7-spreadsheets up to and including 2.3.2. Attackers with low-privileged authenticated access can exploit incorrectly configured access control checks to modify plugin settings. The issue is categorized under CWE-862: Missing Authorization and reflects the plugin's failure to verify user capabilities before executing sensitive actions.
Critical Impact
Authenticated users with minimal privileges can alter plugin configuration, affecting integrity and availability of Contact Form 7 spreadsheet integrations on WordPress sites.
Affected Products
- moshensky CF7 Spreadsheets WordPress plugin
- All versions from n/a through 2.3.2
- WordPress installations integrating Contact Form 7 with the affected plugin
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-03-31 - CVE-2025-31603 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-31603
Vulnerability Analysis
The CF7 Spreadsheets plugin exposes actions that change plugin settings without enforcing proper authorization checks. WordPress plugins must validate user capabilities using functions such as current_user_can() before permitting privileged operations. This plugin omits or misconfigures those checks on settings-change endpoints. Any authenticated user, including subscribers, can invoke the vulnerable action and modify plugin configuration values.
The access control failure aligns with the CWE-862 pattern, where security-sensitive functionality is reachable without an authorization gate. The vulnerability requires network access and low privileges, does not require user interaction, and impacts both integrity and availability at a limited scope. Confidentiality is not directly impacted according to the advisory.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or insufficient authorization validation on settings-mutation handlers in cf7-spreadsheets. The plugin registers callable actions that execute changes to configuration without verifying that the requesting user holds an administrator capability such as manage_options. This is a common WordPress plugin design flaw where nonce checks or role checks are absent, misconfigured, or applied only to the admin UI rather than the underlying handler.
Attack Vector
An attacker authenticates to a target WordPress instance with any valid low-privilege account. The attacker then issues a crafted HTTP request to the vulnerable plugin endpoint, invoking the settings-change action. Because the handler does not validate the caller's role, the request succeeds and applies attacker-controlled configuration changes. This can be used to disrupt legitimate form-to-spreadsheet data flow or to redirect form submissions to attacker-controlled destinations.
No verified proof-of-concept code is publicly available. For technical specifics, refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-31603
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected changes to CF7 Spreadsheets plugin configuration recorded in WordPress options tables
- HTTP POST requests to plugin AJAX or admin-post endpoints from non-administrator user sessions
- Contact Form 7 submissions no longer arriving at the expected Google Sheets destination
Detection Strategies
- Review WordPress audit logs for admin-ajax.php or admin-post.php calls referencing cf7-spreadsheets actions from low-privilege accounts
- Compare current plugin settings against a known-good baseline stored in the wp_options table
- Correlate authenticated subscriber or contributor sessions with administrative-scope configuration changes
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable WordPress activity logging plugins to capture option updates and settings changes
- Alert on any modification to CF7 Spreadsheets configuration performed by non-administrator roles
- Monitor web server access logs for repeated requests to plugin endpoints from the same authenticated session
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-31603
Immediate Actions Required
- Identify all WordPress instances running the cf7-spreadsheets plugin at version 2.3.2 or earlier
- Restrict or deactivate the plugin until a patched release is verified and deployed
- Audit existing WordPress user accounts and remove unnecessary low-privilege registrations
Patch Information
At the time of NVD publication, the advisory lists affected versions from n/a through 2.3.2 with no fixed version referenced. Administrators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the plugin's official repository for updated releases addressing CWE-862.
Workarounds
- Disable the CF7 Spreadsheets plugin and use an alternative Contact Form 7 integration until a fix is released
- Disable open user registration on WordPress sites to reduce the pool of low-privilege attackers
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule blocking requests to plugin settings endpoints from non-administrator roles
- Enforce capability checks at the reverse proxy layer for known plugin action names
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
