The vulnerability CVE-2025-14159 affects the ays-pro Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking plugin for WordPress, versions up to and including 4.9.2. It is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) flaw categorized under CWE-352, caused by the absence of nonce validation on the AJAX action 'ays_sccp_results_export_file'. Nonce validation is a security measure that prevents unauthorized commands from being executed via forged requests. Due to this missing validation, an attacker can craft a malicious link or webpage that, when visited or clicked by a WordPress site administrator, triggers the export of sensitive plugin data without the administrator's explicit consent. The exported data includes personally identifiable information (PII) such as email addresses, IP addresses, physical addresses, and user IDs. This data is then stored in a publicly accessible file on the server, allowing the attacker to retrieve it without needing authentication. The attack vector requires user interaction but no prior authentication or elevated privileges for the attacker. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.3, reflecting a network attack vector with low complexity, no privileges required, but requiring user interaction and resulting in limited confidentiality impact. No integrity or availability impacts are noted. No patches are currently linked, indicating that remediation may still be pending or in development. No known exploits in the wild have been reported to date. The vulnerability poses a risk primarily to WordPress sites using this plugin that manage sensitive user data, as unauthorized data disclosure can lead to privacy violations and compliance issues.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability is primarily on confidentiality, as sensitive user information can be exposed without authentication. This exposure can lead to privacy breaches, reputational damage, and potential violations of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which mandates strict controls over personal data processing and breach notification. Organizations in sectors such as e-commerce, healthcare, education, and government that rely on WordPress sites with this plugin are particularly vulnerable. The publicly accessible nature of the exported data exacerbates the risk, as attackers do not need to compromise credentials or escalate privileges. While the vulnerability does not affect system integrity or availability, the loss of sensitive data can result in financial penalties and loss of customer trust. The requirement for user interaction (administrator clicking a malicious link) means that social engineering or phishing campaigns could be used to exploit this flaw. European organizations with limited cybersecurity awareness or insufficient user training are at higher risk. Additionally, the lack of current patches means organizations must implement interim controls to mitigate exposure.

1. Monitor the vendor’s communications closely and apply security patches immediately once they become available to address the nonce validation issue. 2. Until patches are released, restrict access to the export functionality by limiting administrator privileges and ensuring only trusted personnel can perform export actions. 3. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious AJAX requests targeting the 'ays_sccp_results_export_file' action, especially those originating from external or untrusted sources. 4. Educate WordPress administrators about the risks of clicking unknown or unsolicited links, emphasizing phishing awareness to reduce the likelihood of user interaction exploitation. 5. Regularly audit publicly accessible directories on web servers to detect and remove any sensitive export files that may have been created. 6. Consider disabling or replacing the vulnerable plugin with alternative solutions that have robust security controls if immediate patching is not feasible. 7. Enable detailed logging and monitoring of export actions and file creation events to detect anomalous activity promptly. 8. Review and tighten WordPress security configurations, including enforcing strong authentication and limiting plugin installations to trusted sources.