CVE-2025-48116: EventON Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-48116 Overview

CVE-2025-48116 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] affecting the Ashan Perera EventON eventon-lite WordPress plugin. The flaw exists in all versions up to and including 2.4.4. Attackers can access plugin functionality that is not properly constrained by Access Control Lists (ACLs). Exploitation requires no authentication, no user interaction, and can be performed over the network. The Patchstack advisory describes the issue as broken access control affecting protected features exposed through the plugin.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated remote attackers can invoke EventON plugin functionality that should be restricted, resulting in a limited availability impact against affected WordPress sites.

Affected Products

Ashan Perera EventON (eventon-lite) WordPress plugin
All versions from initial release through 2.4.4
WordPress sites with the vulnerable plugin installed and activated

Discovery Timeline

2025-05-16 - CVE CVE-2025-48116 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-48116

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from Missing Authorization checks within the EventON eventon-lite plugin. Certain plugin endpoints do not enforce capability or role-based verification before executing sensitive operations. Attackers reach the affected functionality over the network without credentials. The impact is scoped to availability, meaning attackers cannot directly read or modify protected data through this flaw, but they can trigger actions that degrade site behavior. The vulnerability aligns with [CWE-862: Missing Authorization], where the application performs a security-relevant action without verifying that the actor holds the required privileges.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of authorization checks such as current_user_can() verification or nonce validation on plugin request handlers. AJAX or REST endpoints registered by the plugin execute privileged workflow logic without confirming the requester's role. Because the checks are missing rather than misconfigured, any unauthenticated request meeting the endpoint contract is accepted.

Attack Vector

An attacker sends crafted HTTP requests directly to the vulnerable plugin endpoints exposed by a WordPress installation. No session, cookie, or user interaction is required. The attack traverses standard web traffic paths, which makes it reachable from the public internet on any site with the plugin enabled. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for advisory details.

No verified public exploit code is available. The vulnerability mechanism is described in prose because no sanitized proof-of-concept has been published.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-48116

Indicators of Compromise

Unauthenticated POST or GET requests to admin-ajax.php referencing EventON-specific action parameters from anonymous sources.
Requests to plugin routes under /wp-content/plugins/eventon-lite/ originating from unusual user agents or IP ranges.
Spikes in anonymous traffic targeting EventON AJAX actions correlated with unexpected changes in plugin state.

Detection Strategies

Enable WordPress access logging and inspect requests targeting EventON endpoints for missing authentication cookies.
Deploy a web application firewall rule that flags unauthenticated calls to plugin-specific admin-ajax.php actions.
Compare request patterns against baseline EventON usage to identify anomalous invocation of privileged actions.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward WordPress and web server logs to a centralized analytics platform for correlation across sites.
Alert on repeated requests to EventON endpoints from a single IP within short time windows.
Track plugin version inventory across WordPress deployments to identify hosts still running eventon-lite <= 2.4.4.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-48116

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress instances that have the eventon-lite plugin installed and record their versions.
Deactivate the plugin on any site running version 2.4.4 or earlier until a patched release is applied.
Restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php from untrusted networks where feasible using WAF or reverse proxy rules.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, the vendor advisory referenced by Patchstack covers versions through 2.4.4. Administrators should upgrade to the latest EventON eventon-lite release published after 2.4.4 and confirm the release notes reference the broken access control fix before returning the plugin to production.

Workarounds

Deactivate and remove eventon-lite if the plugin's functionality is not business-critical.
Apply WAF signatures that block unauthenticated calls to EventON AJAX actions.
Enforce IP allow-listing on wp-admin paths so anonymous invocation of plugin endpoints is denied at the edge.

bash

# Configuration example: block unauthenticated access to EventON AJAX actions at the web server
# nginx snippet
location = /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php {
    if ($arg_action ~* "^evo_") {
        # require an authenticated session cookie
        if ($http_cookie !~* "wordpress_logged_in_") {
            return 403;
        }
    }
    include fastcgi_params;
    fastcgi_pass php_upstream;
}