CVE-2026-25002: LearnPress Sepay Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2026-25002 Overview

CVE-2026-25002 is an Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel vulnerability (CWE-288) affecting the ThimPress LearnPress – Sepay Payment plugin for WordPress. This vulnerability allows attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms and abuse the authentication flow, potentially gaining unauthorized access to payment functionality and user accounts within the LearnPress e-learning platform.

Critical Impact

Attackers can exploit this authentication bypass vulnerability to abuse authentication mechanisms in the LearnPress Sepay Payment plugin, potentially compromising payment transactions and user account security across affected WordPress installations.

Affected Products

• LearnPress – Sepay Payment plugin versions from n/a through 4.0.0
• WordPress installations running vulnerable versions of the learnpress-sepay-payment plugin

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-25 - CVE-2026-25002 published to NVD
• 2026-03-26 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-25002

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability represents a broken authentication issue where the LearnPress Sepay Payment plugin fails to properly validate authentication requests through all available pathways. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-288 (Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel), indicating that while the primary authentication mechanism may be secure, alternative paths exist that can be exploited to circumvent these controls.

The network-accessible nature of this vulnerability means that attackers can potentially exploit it remotely without requiring prior authentication or user interaction, though the attack complexity is elevated due to the specific conditions required for successful exploitation. The vulnerability primarily impacts confidentiality with the potential for information disclosure, and has a secondary impact on integrity through possible authentication abuse.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper implementation of authentication controls within the LearnPress Sepay Payment plugin. The plugin fails to enforce consistent authentication validation across all entry points and request channels, allowing attackers to identify and exploit alternate paths that bypass the intended security controls. This type of vulnerability typically occurs when developers implement authentication checks on primary request handlers but fail to apply the same validation to secondary or callback endpoints.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for CVE-2026-25002 is network-based, requiring no privileges or user interaction for exploitation. Attackers can target vulnerable WordPress installations running the LearnPress Sepay Payment plugin by identifying alternate authentication channels that lack proper validation. The vulnerability enables authentication abuse, which could allow attackers to:

• Bypass payment verification processes
• Access payment-related functionality without proper authorization
• Potentially manipulate transaction states or user enrollment status

Due to the sensitive nature of payment plugin functionality, successful exploitation could have significant financial and data security implications for affected e-learning platforms.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-25002

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual authentication attempts or patterns targeting Sepay Payment plugin endpoints
• Unexpected successful authentications without corresponding legitimate login events
• Anomalous payment transaction logs or enrollment status changes
• HTTP requests to plugin callback URLs with malformed or missing authentication tokens

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress access logs for suspicious requests to /wp-content/plugins/learnpress-sepay-payment/ endpoints
• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect authentication bypass attempts
• Review payment gateway logs for inconsistencies between initiated and completed transactions
• Deploy file integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized plugin modifications

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for the LearnPress plugin and Sepay Payment extension
• Configure alerts for authentication anomalies within WordPress user activity logs
• Implement real-time monitoring of payment callback endpoints for unusual traffic patterns
• Regularly audit user roles and payment transaction records for unauthorized changes

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-25002

Immediate Actions Required

• Audit WordPress installations for the presence of LearnPress Sepay Payment plugin version 4.0.0 or earlier
• Temporarily disable the LearnPress Sepay Payment plugin if updates are not immediately available
• Review recent user authentication logs and payment transactions for suspicious activity
• Implement additional authentication controls at the web server or WAF level

Patch Information

Organizations should monitor the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for updated patch information from the vendor. Update to a patched version of the LearnPress Sepay Payment plugin as soon as one becomes available from ThimPress. Ensure that WordPress core and all plugins are maintained at their latest secure versions.

Workarounds

• Disable the LearnPress Sepay Payment plugin until a security patch is available
• Implement IP-based access restrictions to limit exposure of the vulnerable plugin endpoints
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to block suspicious authentication bypass attempts
• Consider using an alternative payment gateway integration while the vulnerability remains unpatched

# WordPress CLI commands to check and disable vulnerable plugin
# Check installed plugin version
wp plugin list --name=learnpress-sepay-payment --fields=name,version,status

# Temporarily deactivate vulnerable plugin
wp plugin deactivate learnpress-sepay-payment

# Verify plugin is disabled
wp plugin status learnpress-sepay-payment