CVE-2025-3472: OceanWP Ocean Extra RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-3472 Overview

CVE-2025-3472 is a critical arbitrary shortcode execution vulnerability affecting the Ocean Extra plugin for WordPress in all versions up to and including 2.4.6. The vulnerability stems from improper validation of user input before passing it to the do_shortcode function, enabling unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary shortcodes when WooCommerce is also installed and activated on the target WordPress site.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated remote attackers can execute arbitrary shortcodes on vulnerable WordPress installations with WooCommerce, potentially leading to complete site compromise, data theft, and further exploitation.

Affected Products

• Ocean Extra WordPress Plugin versions up to and including 2.4.6
• WordPress installations with WooCommerce activated
• OceanWP theme ecosystem users

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-04-22 - CVE-2025-3472 published to NVD
• 2025-04-30 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-3472

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability falls under the Code Injection (CWE-94) category, representing a serious security flaw in how the Ocean Extra plugin handles user-controlled input. The plugin exposes an action that accepts user input without proper sanitization or validation before executing it through WordPress's do_shortcode() function.

The attack surface is expanded by the requirement that WooCommerce be installed and activated, as WooCommerce provides additional shortcodes that can be leveraged for malicious purposes. This combination allows unauthenticated attackers to chain shortcode functionality to achieve various attack objectives including information disclosure, privilege escalation, and potential remote code execution depending on other installed plugins with dangerous shortcodes.

The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires no authentication, meaning any remote attacker with network access to the vulnerable WordPress site can exploit it. The attack complexity is low, requiring no special conditions or user interaction.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the shortcodes.php file within the Ocean Extra plugin, specifically around line 618 where user input is processed. The code fails to implement proper input validation and sanitization before passing attacker-controlled values to the do_shortcode() WordPress core function.

Without adequate validation, the plugin blindly trusts user-supplied data, which violates the security principle of never trusting user input. The shortcode execution functionality should have implemented allowlisting of permitted shortcodes, proper input sanitization, and authentication requirements for sensitive operations.

Attack Vector

The attack is conducted over the network against vulnerable WordPress installations. An unauthenticated attacker can craft malicious requests containing arbitrary shortcode payloads. When WooCommerce is present, the attack surface increases significantly as WooCommerce registers numerous shortcodes that can be abused.

The exploitation flow involves:

1. Attacker identifies a WordPress site running vulnerable Ocean Extra plugin version (≤2.4.6) with WooCommerce active
2. Attacker crafts a malicious HTTP request containing arbitrary shortcode content
3. The vulnerable endpoint processes the request without proper validation
4. The do_shortcode() function executes the attacker-supplied shortcode
5. Depending on available shortcodes and installed plugins, the attacker achieves their objective (data exfiltration, privilege escalation, etc.)

For technical details on the vulnerable code, see the WordPress Shortcodes PHP Code in the WordPress plugin repository.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-3472

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP requests targeting Ocean Extra plugin endpoints with shortcode-like payloads
• Web server logs showing requests with [ and ] characters typically used in WordPress shortcode syntax
• Unexpected database queries or content modifications initiated through shortcode execution
• Evidence of information disclosure through exposed WooCommerce data

Detection Strategies

• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block requests containing potentially malicious shortcode patterns
• Monitor web server access logs for anomalous requests to Ocean Extra endpoints
• Deploy file integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized changes resulting from shortcode exploitation
• Enable WordPress audit logging to track shortcode execution events

Monitoring Recommendations

• Review access logs for requests containing encoded or obfuscated shortcode syntax
• Monitor for sudden increases in database queries from web processes
• Implement alerting for any unauthorized content modifications on WordPress installations
• Track plugin version inventory and alert when outdated vulnerable versions are detected

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-3472

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Ocean Extra plugin to a version newer than 2.4.6 immediately
• If immediate update is not possible, temporarily deactivate the Ocean Extra plugin until patching is completed
• Review WordPress audit logs for any suspicious activity that may indicate prior exploitation
• Consider temporarily disabling WooCommerce if Ocean Extra cannot be updated and must remain active

Patch Information

OceanWP has released a security patch to address this vulnerability. The fix can be reviewed at WordPress Changeset #3277977. Administrators should update to the latest available version of Ocean Extra through the WordPress plugin update mechanism.

Additional technical analysis is available from Wordfence Vulnerability Analysis.

Workarounds

• Temporarily deactivate Ocean Extra plugin on production sites until the update can be applied
• Implement WAF rules to block requests containing shortcode patterns targeting Ocean Extra endpoints
• Restrict access to WordPress admin areas using IP allowlisting or VPN requirements
• Consider removing WooCommerce temporarily if both plugins cannot be updated and Ocean Extra is critical to operations

# Configuration example - Using WP-CLI to update Ocean Extra plugin
wp plugin update ocean-extra

# Verify current plugin version
wp plugin list --name=ocean-extra --fields=name,version,update_version

# Temporarily deactivate plugin if update is not immediately possible
wp plugin deactivate ocean-extra