CVE-2025-49989: App Builder Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-49989 Overview

CVE-2025-49989 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] affecting the App Cheap app-builder plugin for WordPress. The flaw exists in versions up to and including 5.5.6, where incorrectly configured access control security levels allow unauthenticated attackers to reach functionality that should require authentication or elevated privileges. Attackers can send crafted network requests to affected endpoints without user interaction. The issue produces limited confidentiality impact and no direct integrity or availability degradation. The vulnerability was published to the National Vulnerability Database on 2025-06-20 and documented by Patchstack.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated remote attackers can access restricted plugin functionality and read data that broken access control fails to protect.

Affected Products

App Cheap App Builder (app-builder) WordPress plugin, versions up to and including 5.5.6
WordPress installations that expose the plugin's REST or AJAX endpoints to the public internet
Mobile applications built on the App Builder framework that share the affected backend endpoints

Discovery Timeline

2025-06-20 - CVE-2025-49989 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-49989

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from missing authorization checks on plugin endpoints exposed by the App Builder plugin. The plugin registers handlers that perform sensitive operations without verifying the caller's capability or authentication state. An attacker on the network can invoke these handlers directly through standard HTTP requests. Because the access control logic is either absent or misconfigured, the plugin returns data or executes actions that should be limited to authorized roles. The impact scope is confined to information disclosure, with no reported integrity or availability effects. According to the EPSS data as of 2026-07-21, the exploitation probability is 0.265% at the 18.16 percentile.

Root Cause

The root cause is a Missing Authorization weakness [CWE-862]. Plugin request handlers do not call WordPress capability checks such as current_user_can() or verify nonces before executing privileged logic. Access control security levels registered for these endpoints are configured incorrectly, permitting anonymous callers to reach code paths intended for authenticated users.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires only network access to a WordPress site running an affected version of app-builder. The attacker sends HTTP requests to the plugin's REST or AJAX endpoints without valid credentials. No user interaction and no prior privilege are required, and the attack complexity is low. Successful requests return data that the access control layer should have protected.

No verified proof-of-concept code is publicly available. Refer to the
Patchstack advisory for technical details on the affected endpoints.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49989

Indicators of Compromise

Unauthenticated HTTP requests to wp-json/app-builder/* or admin-ajax.php endpoints referencing App Builder actions
Repeated requests from a single source IP to plugin endpoints without an authenticated session cookie
Anomalous JSON responses containing plugin data returned to unauthenticated clients

Detection Strategies

Review WordPress access logs for requests to App Builder REST routes that lack authentication headers or cookies
Correlate requests to plugin endpoints against user session state to identify anonymous access to privileged actions
Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules that flag or block calls to app-builder endpoints from unauthenticated sources

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose logging on WordPress and reverse proxies to capture full request URIs and authentication context
Alert on unusual spikes in traffic to app-builder REST or AJAX endpoints, particularly from single or scanning sources
Track plugin version inventory across managed WordPress sites to identify installations still running 5.5.6 or earlier

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49989

Immediate Actions Required

Update the App Builder plugin to a version later than 5.5.6 as soon as the vendor publishes a patched release
Audit WordPress sites for the presence of the app-builder plugin and record installed versions
Restrict access to WordPress REST and admin-ajax endpoints via WAF or reverse proxy allow-lists where feasible

Patch Information

Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the current patch status. The advisory identifies versions through 5.5.6 as affected. Apply the vendor-supplied fixed version once available and validate that authorization checks are enforced on all plugin endpoints.

Workarounds

Disable the App Builder plugin until a patched version is installed if the site does not require its functionality
Block public access to plugin-specific REST routes using WAF rules or .htaccess restrictions
Enforce IP allow-listing on wp-admin/admin-ajax.php and wp-json/app-builder/* where the plugin serves only trusted mobile clients

bash

# Example WAF rule concept (adapt to your WAF syntax)
# Block unauthenticated access to app-builder REST endpoints
location ~ ^/wp-json/app-builder/ {
    if ($http_cookie !~ "wordpress_logged_in") {
        return 403;
    }
}