CVE-2025-14159 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability found in the ays-pro Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 4.9.2. The vulnerability stems from the absence of nonce validation on the AJAX action 'ays_sccp_results_export_file'. Nonce validation is a security mechanism that prevents unauthorized commands from being executed by verifying that requests originate from legitimate users. Without this protection, an attacker can craft a malicious request that, when executed by an authenticated site administrator (via clicking a link or visiting a malicious page), triggers the export of sensitive plugin data. This data includes personally identifiable information such as email addresses, IP addresses, physical addresses, user IDs, and other user-related information. The exported data is saved in a publicly accessible file on the server, allowing the attacker to retrieve it without authentication. The vulnerability requires user interaction but no privileges or authentication on the attacker’s part. The CVSS v3.1 score is 4.3 (medium), reflecting that the attack vector is network-based, with low attack complexity, no privileges required, but user interaction is necessary. The impact is limited to confidentiality loss, with no effect on integrity or availability. No patches were linked at the time of publication, and no known exploits have been observed in the wild. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper nonce implementation in WordPress plugins that handle sensitive data export functions.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant confidentiality risk, especially for those operating WordPress sites with the ays-pro Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking plugin installed. The exposure of sensitive user data such as email addresses, physical addresses, and IP addresses can lead to privacy violations and potential non-compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which mandates strict controls over personal data handling and breach notifications. Organizations in sectors like e-commerce, healthcare, and finance that rely on this plugin to protect content and user data are particularly vulnerable. The publicly accessible export file increases the risk of data leakage without requiring attacker authentication, making it easier for threat actors to harvest user information. This could result in reputational damage, regulatory fines, and targeted phishing or social engineering attacks against affected users. Although the vulnerability does not impact system integrity or availability, the confidentiality breach alone is critical given the sensitivity of the data involved. The requirement for administrator interaction means that social engineering campaigns could be used to exploit this flaw, emphasizing the need for user awareness and technical controls.

1. Immediate mitigation should include disabling or restricting access to the 'ays_sccp_results_export_file' AJAX action until a patch is available. 2. Implement nonce validation on all AJAX actions that perform sensitive operations to ensure requests originate from legitimate users. 3. Restrict access to exported data files by configuring web server permissions to prevent public access or by storing such files outside the web root. 4. Educate WordPress site administrators about the risks of clicking on untrusted links or visiting suspicious websites to reduce the risk of social engineering exploitation. 5. Monitor web server logs for unusual access patterns to the export file or AJAX endpoints. 6. Regularly update the ays-pro plugin once the vendor releases a patch addressing this vulnerability. 7. Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious AJAX requests targeting this action. 8. Conduct security audits of other plugins to ensure nonce validation is properly implemented across all AJAX actions. 9. Review and tighten user roles and permissions to minimize the number of administrators who can trigger sensitive actions. 10. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to reduce the risk of cross-site scripting that could facilitate CSRF attacks.