CVE-2025-62946: Everest Backup Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-62946 Overview

CVE-2025-62946 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the Everest Backup plugin for WordPress, developed by everestthemes. The flaw stems from incorrectly configured access control security levels [CWE-862], allowing unauthenticated network-based attackers to interact with plugin functionality that should require proper authorization checks. The vulnerability affects all versions of Everest Backup up to and including 2.3.8. Successful exploitation can affect availability of the targeted WordPress site, though confidentiality and integrity are not directly impacted according to the published CVSS vector. The plugin handles site backup and restore operations, making any access control gap relevant to site administrators.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated attackers can reach plugin functionality protected by broken access control, leading to availability impact on affected WordPress sites running Everest Backup 2.3.8 or earlier.

Affected Products

Everest Backup WordPress plugin (everest-backup) versions up to and including 2.3.8
WordPress sites running the vulnerable plugin with default configurations
Hosting environments exposing affected WordPress installations to the internet

Discovery Timeline

2025-10-27 - CVE-2025-62946 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-04-27 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-62946

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is classified as Missing Authorization [CWE-862]. The Everest Backup plugin exposes functionality without enforcing the access control checks required to restrict that functionality to authorized users. Because the attack vector is network-based and requires no privileges or user interaction, an attacker can issue requests directly against the affected WordPress endpoints. The published impact is limited to availability, meaning exploitation can disrupt normal backup operations or related plugin functions rather than expose sensitive data or modify content.

Root Cause

The root cause is incorrectly configured access control security levels in plugin request handlers. The plugin fails to verify the capabilities or roles of the requesting user before executing protected actions. WordPress provides primitives such as current_user_can() and nonce verification through check_ajax_referer() to enforce authorization, and the affected versions do not apply these checks consistently across all sensitive endpoints.

Attack Vector

Exploitation occurs over the network against the WordPress HTTP interface. An unauthenticated attacker sends crafted requests to plugin-registered endpoints that lack authorization enforcement. No user interaction is required. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for endpoint-specific technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-62946

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected requests to admin-ajax.php or REST API routes registered by the everest-backup plugin originating from unauthenticated sessions.
Anomalous activity in the plugin's backup directories, including unexpected creation, modification, or deletion of backup archives.
Web server access logs showing repeated requests to everest-backup action handlers from a single source without prior authentication.

Detection Strategies

Review WordPress access logs for requests targeting everest-backup action names without an authenticated session cookie.
Monitor plugin-related file system paths under wp-content/uploads/ for unexpected backup file operations.
Correlate failed or unusual plugin requests with subsequent availability degradation on the WordPress instance.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose logging on the WordPress installation and forward logs to a centralized analytics platform for correlation.
Alert on spikes in HTTP traffic to known plugin endpoints, especially from IP addresses with no prior interaction history.
Track plugin version inventory across managed WordPress sites to identify hosts still running everest-backup2.3.8 or earlier.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-62946

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress sites running the Everest Backup plugin and confirm installed versions.
Update Everest Backup to a version newer than 2.3.8 once the vendor releases a patched release.
Restrict access to the WordPress admin interface and AJAX endpoints using web application firewall rules where feasible.

Patch Information

The vulnerability affects Everest Backup versions through 2.3.8. Site administrators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the official plugin repository for the latest fixed release information.

Workarounds

Temporarily deactivate the Everest Backup plugin until a patched version is installed.
Apply web application firewall rules to block unauthenticated requests to plugin-specific AJAX or REST endpoints.
Limit administrative endpoint exposure by IP allowlisting or HTTP authentication at the web server layer.

bash

# Configuration example: restrict access to plugin endpoints via .htaccess
<FilesMatch "admin-ajax\.php">
  Require ip 203.0.113.0/24
</FilesMatch>