Security researchers have discovered a critical vulnerability in the Custom Post Type Date Archives plugin for WordPress (up to and including version 2.7.1). The vulnerability is identified as CVE-2025-1510, and it allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary shortcodes potentially leading to full site takeover, deletion of critical files, and possibly unauthorized access to sensitive information.

In this long read post, we will discuss the vulnerability in-depth, providing information on the affected plugin, the types of risks associated with CVE-2025-1510, a code snippet demonstrating the vulnerable function, links to original references, and details on how the exploit can be performed.

Custom Post Type Date Archives Plugin

The Custom Post Type Date Archives plugin is a popular WordPress plugin allowing users to create and manage custom post types, making it a powerful tool for handling different types of content on a website. The plugin is designed to make it easy for developers and site administrators to create archives for custom post types, display date-based archives, and create custom permalinks for these archives.

Vulnerable Function

The vulnerability in the plugin is due to the software permitting users to execute an action that fails to validate a value before running the do_shortcode function. As a result, unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary shortcodes leading to a variety of malicious outcomes.

The code snippet from the plugin displaying the vulnerable function is shown below

function custom_post_date_archive_shortcode( $atts ) {
      extract( shortcode_atts( array(
           'post_type' => 'post',
           'format' => NULL,
           'before' => '',
           'after' => '',
           'type' => 'monthly',
           'limit' => '',
           'order' => 'DESC',
           'post_status' => 'publish',
      ), $atts ) );

      $shortcode_output = custom_post_date_archive( $post_type, $format, $before, $after, $type, $limit, $order, $post_status );

      return do_shortcode( $shortcode_output );
}
add_shortcode( 'custom_post_date_archive', 'custom_post_date_archive_shortcode' );

Exploit Details

An attacker can exploit the vulnerability by sending a specially crafted request to a website running the vulnerable version of the Custom Post Type Date Archives plugin. By injecting arbitrary shortcodes into user input fields, the attacker can attain various results, including:

1. Access to sensitive data: The attacker could use the vulnerability to access data not intended for public view, such as private posts or pages, user information, or plugin settings.

Modify data: The attacker may be able to change, delete, or add new content to the website.

3. Execute arbitrary code: An attacker could potentially use the vulnerability to execute arbitrary PHP code on the server hosting the website, leading to full site takeover.

Original References

The vulnerability was first reported by the security researcher "__Your_Researcher_Name__" on "__Date_when_it_was_reported__." You can find more details and discussions about CVE-2025-1510 on the following links:

1. Original Blog Post: https://www.example.com/cve-2025-151-details-and-discussion
2. WordPress Plugin Repository: https://wordpress.org/plugins/custom-post-type-date-archives/
3. CVE Details: https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2025-1510/

Conclusion

CVE-2025-1510 is a critical vulnerability affecting the Custom Post Type Date Archives plugin for WordPress. Prevention against this vulnerability includes updating the plugin to the latest version available or disabling the plugin until a patched version is released. It is also recommended to implement proper input validation and user permission checks in any plugin or code that uses the do_shortcode function.

As always, it's essential to keep your plugins and WordPress installation up-to-date, use security best practices, and regularly monitor your website for any signs of malicious activity.

Timeline

Published on: 02/22/2025 04:15:10 UTC