CVE-2025-67973: Sunshine Photo Cart Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-67973 Overview

CVE-2025-67973 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability (CWE-862) discovered in the Sunshine Photo Cart WordPress plugin. This broken access control flaw allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially enabling unauthorized access to protected functionality or data within the plugin.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can bypass authorization checks to access restricted resources or functionality, potentially leading to information disclosure and limited denial of service conditions.

Affected Products

• Sunshine Photo Cart WordPress Plugin versions through 3.5.6.2
• WordPress sites running vulnerable versions of the sunshine-photo-cart plugin

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-20 - CVE CVE-2025-67973 published to NVD
• 2026-02-25 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-67973

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from missing authorization checks within the Sunshine Photo Cart plugin for WordPress. The plugin fails to properly verify user permissions before allowing access to certain functionality, creating a broken access control condition. Attackers can exploit this flaw remotely without authentication to bypass security restrictions that should limit access to authorized users only.

The impact includes potential unauthorized read access to sensitive information (confidentiality impact) and the ability to disrupt certain plugin functionality (availability impact). The integrity of the system is not directly affected according to the vulnerability characteristics.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-67973 is CWE-862: Missing Authorization. The Sunshine Photo Cart plugin does not implement proper authorization checks to verify that users have the necessary permissions before granting access to protected resources or functions. This oversight allows any network-based attacker to access functionality that should be restricted to authenticated or privileged users.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability is exploitable over the network without requiring authentication or user interaction. An attacker can directly access vulnerable endpoints or functions within the plugin that lack proper authorization validation. The attack complexity is low, meaning exploitation does not require special conditions or significant technical sophistication.

The vulnerability manifests in the plugin's access control implementation where authorization checks are absent or improperly configured. Attackers can send crafted requests to bypass intended restrictions and access protected functionality. For detailed technical information, refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-67973

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual access patterns to Sunshine Photo Cart plugin endpoints from unauthenticated sources
• Web server logs showing requests to plugin-specific URLs without corresponding authentication sessions
• Unexpected data access or exports from the photo cart functionality
• Anomalous API calls or direct requests to plugin functions that bypass normal user workflows

Detection Strategies

• Review WordPress access logs for suspicious requests targeting /wp-content/plugins/sunshine-photo-cart/ paths
• Monitor for unauthenticated requests attempting to access plugin administrative or protected functions
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block unauthorized access attempts to the plugin
• Use WordPress security plugins to audit access control and detect broken authentication patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for the Sunshine Photo Cart plugin and WordPress authentication events
• Set up alerts for failed or unexpected access attempts to plugin resources
• Regularly audit user access patterns and compare against expected baselines
• Monitor for any unusual data exfiltration patterns from photo cart content

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-67973

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Sunshine Photo Cart plugin to the latest patched version immediately
• Review WordPress user permissions and access control configurations
• Audit logs for any signs of exploitation or unauthorized access
• Consider temporarily disabling the plugin if an update is not immediately available and the functionality is not critical

Patch Information

A patched version addressing this vulnerability should be available from the plugin developer. Check the WordPress plugin repository or the Patchstack advisory for the latest secure version information. Upgrade from version 3.5.6.2 or earlier to the newest release that addresses this broken access control issue.

Workarounds

• Restrict access to the WordPress admin area and plugin functions using .htaccess rules or server-level controls
• Implement additional authentication layers through security plugins like Wordfence or Sucuri
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to add access control protections at the network level
• Limit plugin functionality to trusted users only until a patch can be applied

# Example: Restrict plugin access via .htaccess (place in /wp-content/plugins/sunshine-photo-cart/)
<IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
    Require ip 192.168.1.0/24
    Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
</IfModule>

# Alternative: Deny direct access to sensitive plugin files
<FilesMatch "\.(php)$">
    Require all denied
</FilesMatch>