The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-12498 affects the EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings and Tickets plugin for WordPress, a widely used tool for managing events, bookings, and tickets. The core issue is a missing authorization check (CWE-862) in the 'booking_add_notes' function, which is responsible for adding notes to bookings in the backend interface. This missing capability check means that any authenticated user with at least Subscriber-level privileges can add notes to any booking record, regardless of ownership or role restrictions. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 4.2.0.0. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.3 (medium), reflecting that the attack vector is network-based (remote), with low attack complexity, requiring low privileges (authenticated user), and no user interaction. The impact is limited to integrity, as unauthorized notes can be injected, potentially misleading administrators or users reviewing booking information. Confidentiality and availability are not affected. No known exploits have been reported in the wild, and no official patches or updates have been published at the time of this analysis. The vulnerability was publicly disclosed on November 8, 2025, with the initial reservation date on October 29, 2025. The plugin is developed by metagauss and is popular among WordPress users for event management. This vulnerability could be leveraged by malicious insiders or compromised accounts to manipulate booking data, potentially causing confusion, fraud, or operational disruption in event management workflows.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-12498 lies in the integrity of booking data within event management systems. Unauthorized addition of booking notes could lead to misinformation, miscommunication, or fraudulent activities such as falsifying booking statuses or instructions. This could undermine trust in event operations, cause financial discrepancies, or disrupt customer service. While confidentiality and availability remain unaffected, the integrity compromise could have cascading effects on business processes relying on accurate booking information. Organizations handling large volumes of event bookings or sensitive client data may face reputational damage or operational inefficiencies. The risk is heightened in environments where multiple users have Subscriber-level access or higher, increasing the attack surface. Since exploitation requires authentication, the threat is more relevant to insider threats or compromised user accounts rather than external anonymous attackers. European companies using WordPress extensively for event management, especially in sectors like entertainment, conferences, and ticketing services, should be particularly vigilant.

To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should first audit and minimize the number of users with Subscriber-level or higher access to the WordPress backend, enforcing the principle of least privilege. Implement strict user role management and monitor for unusual activity related to booking notes. Employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of account compromise. Until an official patch is released, consider temporarily disabling the EventPrime plugin or restricting its access via web application firewalls or custom access controls. Review and harden WordPress security settings, including limiting plugin management capabilities to trusted administrators only. Regularly monitor logs for unauthorized note additions or suspicious backend activity. Once a patch or update addressing this vulnerability becomes available from metagauss, apply it promptly. Additionally, consider implementing anomaly detection systems to flag unexpected changes in booking data. Educate staff about the risks of credential sharing and phishing attacks that could lead to account compromise.