CVE-2025-62741 Overview
CVE-2025-62741 is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability affecting the SmartDataSoft Pool Services WordPress theme. The flaw exists in versions up to and including 3.3, allowing unauthenticated attackers to coerce the vulnerable server into issuing arbitrary HTTP requests to internal or external destinations. The issue is tracked under CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery.
Critical Impact
Attackers can abuse the WordPress server to probe internal network resources, interact with cloud metadata services, or pivot to internal applications normally shielded from the public internet.
Affected Products
- SmartDataSoft Pool Services WordPress theme versions up to and including 3.3
- WordPress installations using the pool-services theme
- Sites running unpatched releases below the vendor fix
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-01-22 - CVE CVE-2025-62741 published to NVD
- 2026-04-27 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-62741
Vulnerability Analysis
The Pool Services theme exposes functionality that accepts a user-controllable URL and uses it to initiate a server-side HTTP request. Because the theme does not adequately validate or restrict the destination, attackers can supply URLs pointing to internal IP ranges, link-local addresses, or loopback endpoints. The server then performs the requested fetch from its own network position, returning content or side effects that would otherwise be inaccessible to an external attacker.
This class of flaw is particularly impactful in WordPress hosting environments deployed on cloud infrastructure. SSRF can reach metadata services such as 169.254.169.254, exposing instance credentials, or interact with internal APIs that trust the WordPress host. The CVSS vector indicates network-reachable exploitation without authentication, though successful attack execution carries higher complexity. The EPSS score sits at 0.04%, indicating low observed exploitation likelihood at this time.
Root Cause
The root cause is insufficient validation of user-supplied URL parameters before they are passed to a server-side HTTP client. The theme does not enforce an allowlist of destinations and does not block requests targeting private address space, DNS rebinding payloads, or non-HTTP schemes. This omission permits attackers to redirect outbound requests at will.
Attack Vector
An unauthenticated attacker submits a crafted request to a vulnerable endpoint within the Pool Services theme, supplying a URL parameter that points to an internal asset. The WordPress server retrieves the supplied URL and may return response data or perform actions tied to the requested resource. Technical details are documented in the Patchstack WordPress SSRF Vulnerability advisory.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-62741
Indicators of Compromise
- Outbound HTTP requests from the WordPress server to private IP ranges such as 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16, or 127.0.0.0/8
- Web server access logs showing repeated requests to Pool Services theme endpoints containing URL-style parameters
- Unexpected requests originating from the WordPress host to cloud metadata endpoints such as 169.254.169.254
Detection Strategies
- Inspect web access logs for query parameters containing fully qualified URLs, IP literals, or encoded localhost references targeting pool-services theme files
- Correlate inbound web requests with outbound network connections from the PHP worker process to identify SSRF-driven fetches
- Deploy web application firewall rules that flag HTTP parameters carrying http://, https://, file://, or gopher:// scheme values
Monitoring Recommendations
- Monitor egress traffic from WordPress hosts and alert on connections to RFC1918 networks or cloud metadata IPs
- Track theme file enumeration and unusual GET or POST volumes against the pool-services directory
- Audit cloud instance role credential usage for anomalous calls that could follow a successful SSRF chain
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-62741
Immediate Actions Required
- Identify all WordPress sites using the Pool Services theme and confirm whether the installed version is 3.3 or earlier
- Apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available through the WordPress theme update channel
- Restrict outbound network access from WordPress hosts to only required external services until a patch is deployed
- Enforce IMDSv2 on AWS EC2 instances to limit credential exposure through metadata service SSRF
Patch Information
Upgrade the Pool Services theme to a release later than 3.3 once the vendor publishes a fixed version. Refer to the Patchstack advisory for current patch availability and version guidance.
Workarounds
- Place the WordPress site behind a web application firewall configured to block URL-valued parameters targeting theme endpoints
- Use network segmentation and egress filtering to deny WordPress hosts access to internal subnets and metadata endpoints
- Temporarily disable or replace the Pool Services theme if patching is not immediately feasible
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
