CVE-2025-49324: Job Board Manager Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-49324 Overview

CVE-2025-49324 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] in the PickPlugins Job Board Manager plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions of job-board-manager up to and including 2.1.60. Attackers can exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels to reach functionality that should require authentication or elevated privileges. The vulnerability is exploitable over the network without authentication or user interaction. Successful exploitation results in limited integrity impact on the affected WordPress site.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated network-based access to protected plugin functionality due to broken access control, enabling attackers to modify data managed by the Job Board Manager plugin.

Affected Products

PickPlugins Job Board Manager plugin for WordPress
All versions from n/a through 2.1.60
WordPress sites with the job-board-manager plugin installed and active

Discovery Timeline

2025-06-06 - CVE-2025-49324 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-49324

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a broken access control issue in the Job Board Manager WordPress plugin. Specific plugin endpoints or actions do not verify the caller's capability or authentication state before executing privileged operations. This mismatch between the intended access level and the enforced access level allows unauthenticated requests to invoke functionality that should be restricted to authorized users. The issue is categorized under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization).

The attack surface is reachable over the network through standard WordPress request handlers, such as admin-ajax.php actions, REST endpoints, or plugin-registered hooks. Because no privileges or user interaction are required, any attacker able to reach the site can attempt exploitation. The impact is limited to integrity, meaning attackers can modify data exposed by the vulnerable functionality but cannot directly disclose sensitive information or take the site offline through this flaw alone.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of a capability check, such as current_user_can(), or a valid nonce verification through check_ajax_referer() on the affected plugin handlers. The plugin registers actions that operate on job board data without validating whether the requester has the required role. This design flaw exposes privileged operations to unauthenticated clients.

Attack Vector

An attacker sends crafted HTTP requests directly to the vulnerable plugin endpoints on the target WordPress site. Because authentication is not enforced, the request executes with the plugin's expected privilege context. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Advisory for endpoint-specific technical details.

// No verified public exploit code is available for CVE-2025-49324.
// The vulnerability is described in prose above. Consult the vendor
// advisory for specifics on affected handlers.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49324

Indicators of Compromise

Unauthenticated HTTP POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php referencing job-board-manager actions.
Unexpected modifications to job listings, applications, or plugin-managed metadata without a corresponding authenticated administrator session.
Access log entries showing repeated requests to plugin endpoints from a single IP without valid session cookies.

Detection Strategies

Inspect WordPress access logs for requests targeting job-board-manager AJAX actions or REST routes without authenticated cookies.
Correlate database changes in plugin tables with the originating HTTP requests to identify unauthorized modifications.
Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that flag anonymous requests invoking plugin admin actions.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress audit logging to capture plugin data changes and the user context of each change.
Monitor outbound alerts from file integrity monitoring on wp-content/plugins/job-board-manager/.
Track anomalous spikes in request volume to plugin-specific endpoints and alert on requests lacking valid nonces.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49324

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Job Board Manager plugin to a version later than 2.1.60 once the vendor publishes a fixed release.
Deactivate and remove the job-board-manager plugin if a patched version is not yet available and the functionality is not essential.
Restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php and REST endpoints through a WAF rule set that requires authentication for plugin-specific actions.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no fixed version is listed in the NVD entry. Administrators should monitor the Patchstack Vulnerability Advisory and the plugin's WordPress.org page for the release of a patched version above 2.1.60.

Workarounds

Apply virtual patching through a WAF to block unauthenticated requests to Job Board Manager AJAX and REST endpoints.
Limit access to the WordPress site using IP allowlists on administrative pathways until a patched plugin version is installed.
Audit user roles and remove unnecessary plugin functionality exposed to unauthenticated visitors.

bash

# Example WAF rule (ModSecurity) to block anonymous access to plugin AJAX actions
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" \
  "chain,deny,status:403,id:1004932,msg:'Block unauth job-board-manager action'"
SecRule ARGS:action "@rx ^job_board_manager_" \
  "chain"
SecRule &REQUEST_COOKIES:/wordpress_logged_in_/ "@eq 0"