CVE-2025-50028 Overview
CVE-2025-50028 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] in the CodeSolz Ultimate Push Notifications plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.2.0. Attackers can exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels to interact with plugin functionality that should require privileged access. The issue is reachable over the network without authentication or user interaction. Successful exploitation impacts data integrity and availability on affected WordPress sites running the plugin.
Critical Impact
Unauthenticated attackers can invoke plugin actions that lack proper authorization checks, allowing tampering with push notification functionality on affected WordPress sites.
Affected Products
- CodeSolz Ultimate Push Notifications plugin for WordPress
- All versions from n/a through <= 1.2.0
- WordPress sites with the ultimate-push-notifications plugin installed and active
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-07-16 - CVE-2025-50028 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-50028
Vulnerability Analysis
The Ultimate Push Notifications plugin exposes functionality without enforcing sufficient authorization checks. Under [CWE-862] Missing Authorization, the application fails to verify that the caller possesses the required privileges before executing sensitive operations. The vulnerability is exploitable over the network with low attack complexity and no privileges required. The impact is limited to integrity and availability, with no direct confidentiality loss. Attackers can invoke plugin endpoints anonymously and manipulate state or trigger notification-related actions.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of proper capability or nonce checks on plugin actions. WordPress plugins must gate privileged handlers using functions such as current_user_can() and validate request authenticity with check_admin_referer() or wp_verify_nonce(). In affected versions of ultimate-push-notifications, one or more request handlers accept input from unauthenticated sources and act on it without enforcing these controls.
Attack Vector
An attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to the WordPress site targeting exposed plugin endpoints. Because no authentication is required, the requests can originate from any network-reachable client. Exploitation does not require user interaction. Consult the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for endpoint-level technical details.
No verified public exploit code is available for this vulnerability. The mechanism involves direct HTTP requests to plugin action handlers that lack authorization enforcement.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-50028
Indicators of Compromise
- Unauthenticated HTTP POST or GET requests to admin-ajax.php referencing ultimate-push-notifications actions from unfamiliar source IPs
- Unexpected creation, modification, or deletion of push notification records in the WordPress database
- Access log entries hitting plugin endpoints without a preceding authenticated session cookie
Detection Strategies
- Inventory WordPress installations and identify sites running the ultimate-push-notifications plugin at version <= 1.2.0
- Review WordPress access logs for anomalous traffic to plugin-specific action names lacking a valid _wpnonce parameter
- Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that flag unauthenticated requests to plugin AJAX handlers
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable audit logging for WordPress admin actions and plugin option changes using a security logging plugin
- Forward WordPress and web server logs to a centralized SIEM or data lake for correlation across sites
- Alert on spikes in requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with the plugin's action parameter from a single source
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-50028
Immediate Actions Required
- Identify all WordPress instances running the Ultimate Push Notifications plugin at version 1.2.0 or earlier
- Update the plugin to a fixed release once the vendor publishes a patched version above 1.2.0
- Deactivate and remove the plugin on sites where it is not actively required
- Restrict access to /wp-admin/ and admin-ajax.php at the network or WAF layer where feasible
Patch Information
At time of publication, the advisory lists affected versions through <= 1.2.0. Monitor the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report and the plugin's WordPress.org listing for a fixed release. Apply the update across all environments once available and verify the plugin version post-upgrade.
Workarounds
- Disable the ultimate-push-notifications plugin until a vendor patch is available
- Add WAF rules blocking unauthenticated requests to the plugin's AJAX and REST endpoints
- Restrict admin-ajax.php access to authenticated sessions using virtual patching where the WAF supports it
# Example: list WordPress sites with the affected plugin using WP-CLI
wp plugin list --name=ultimate-push-notifications --field=version
# Deactivate the plugin as a temporary workaround
wp plugin deactivate ultimate-push-notifications
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
