CVE-2025-49448: FW Food Menu Path Traversal Flaw

CVE-2025-49448 Overview

CVE-2025-49448 is a Path Traversal vulnerability affecting the FW Food Menu WordPress plugin developed by Fastw3b LLC. This vulnerability enables unauthenticated attackers to manipulate file paths and potentially delete arbitrary files on the affected WordPress installation. The flaw stems from improper limitation of pathname handling within the plugin, allowing malicious actors to traverse outside of intended directories.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability allows unauthenticated arbitrary file deletion through path traversal, potentially enabling attackers to delete critical WordPress files including wp-config.php, leading to complete site compromise or denial of service.

Affected Products

• FW Food Menu WordPress Plugin versions through 6.0.0
• WordPress installations using vulnerable FW Food Menu versions
• Websites running Fastw3b LLC FW Food Menu plugin without security patches

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-06-27 - CVE-2025-49448 published to NVD
• 2026-04-28 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-49448

Vulnerability Analysis

This Path Traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) exists in the FW Food Menu WordPress plugin and allows attackers to bypass intended directory restrictions. The vulnerability is exploitable over the network without requiring authentication or user interaction, making it particularly dangerous for public-facing WordPress sites.

The flaw enables attackers to construct malicious file paths that traverse outside the plugin's intended directory structure. By using directory traversal sequences such as ../ in file path parameters, an attacker can reference and manipulate files anywhere on the filesystem that the web server has permissions to access. In this case, the vulnerability specifically enables arbitrary file deletion capabilities.

The changed scope characteristic of this vulnerability indicates that exploiting it can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component itself, potentially impacting the entire WordPress installation and underlying server.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-49448 is improper input validation and sanitization of user-supplied file paths within the FW Food Menu plugin. The plugin fails to adequately restrict pathname inputs to the intended directory structure, allowing path traversal sequences to bypass security controls. This lack of proper path canonicalization and validation means that directory traversal characters are not stripped or blocked before file operations are performed.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this vulnerability is network-based, requiring no authentication or privileges to exploit. An attacker can send crafted HTTP requests to the vulnerable WordPress endpoint containing path traversal sequences in file path parameters.

The attack typically involves:

1. Identifying a WordPress installation running the vulnerable FW Food Menu plugin
2. Crafting malicious requests with path traversal sequences targeting file deletion functionality
3. Traversing to sensitive files such as wp-config.php, .htaccess, or other critical system files
4. Deleting targeted files to cause denial of service or prepare for further exploitation

By deleting critical WordPress configuration files, an attacker can trigger the WordPress installation wizard, potentially allowing them to reconfigure the site with attacker-controlled database credentials. Alternatively, deleting security-related files can disable protection mechanisms and enable additional attack vectors.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49448

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected HTTP requests to FW Food Menu plugin endpoints containing ../ or URL-encoded equivalents (%2e%2e%2f)
• Missing critical WordPress files such as wp-config.php, .htaccess, or theme/plugin files
• Web server logs showing requests with path traversal patterns targeting the fw-food-menu plugin directory
• Sudden WordPress errors indicating missing configuration or core files

Detection Strategies

• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block path traversal sequences in request parameters
• Monitor file integrity for critical WordPress files using file integrity monitoring tools
• Enable detailed access logging for the WordPress installation and review for suspicious patterns
• Use security plugins that detect unauthorized file modifications or deletions

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure real-time alerting for file deletion events in WordPress directories
• Monitor HTTP request logs for encoded path traversal attempts (%2e, %2f, %5c)
• Establish baseline file counts and checksums for the WordPress installation to detect unexpected changes
• Review web server error logs for file-not-found errors on critical configuration files

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49448

Immediate Actions Required

• Update FW Food Menu plugin to the latest patched version immediately
• If no patch is available, deactivate and remove the FW Food Menu plugin until a security update is released
• Implement WAF rules to block path traversal attempts at the network perimeter
• Review file integrity of the WordPress installation to identify any unauthorized deletions

Patch Information

Security updates should be obtained directly from the plugin developer or the WordPress plugin repository. Review the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for detailed remediation guidance and patch availability information.

Administrators should update to a version newer than 6.0.0 once a patched release becomes available from Fastw3b LLC.

Workarounds

• Temporarily disable the FW Food Menu plugin if updates are not yet available
• Implement strict file permissions on critical WordPress files to prevent deletion by the web server user
• Deploy a web application firewall with path traversal detection rules
• Create regular backups of critical files including wp-config.php to enable rapid recovery

# Configuration example - Restrict file permissions on critical WordPress files
# Make wp-config.php read-only to the web server
chmod 400 wp-config.php

# Add .htaccess rules to block path traversal attempts
# Add to WordPress root .htaccess file:
# RewriteEngine On
# RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (\.\./|\.\.\\) [NC,OR]
# RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} (\.\./|\.\.\\) [NC]
# RewriteRule .* - [F,L]