CVE-2025-14442 identifies a vulnerability in the ays-pro Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking plugin for WordPress, which is widely used to protect and lock content on WordPress sites. The vulnerability arises because the plugin exports user data into CSV files stored in a publicly accessible directory with predictable filenames. This directory lacks proper access controls, allowing unauthenticated attackers to enumerate and download these CSV files directly via HTTP requests. The exposed CSV files contain sensitive user information including email addresses, IP addresses, usernames, user roles, and location data. Since the filenames are predictable, attackers do not need any credentials or user interaction to exploit this flaw. The vulnerability affects all plugin versions up to and including 4.9.2. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.3, reflecting a medium severity primarily due to the confidentiality impact and ease of exploitation without authentication. No integrity or availability impacts are noted. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the vulnerability poses a significant privacy risk, especially under stringent data protection laws such as GDPR. The root cause is improper file permission and directory exposure, a classic example of CWE-552 (Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties).

For European organizations, this vulnerability can lead to unauthorized disclosure of personal data, which may include emails, IP addresses, and location information of users. Such data exposure can result in privacy violations, reputational damage, and potential non-compliance with GDPR and other data protection regulations, leading to legal and financial penalties. Attackers could use the harvested information for targeted phishing campaigns, social engineering, or further attacks against the organization. The lack of authentication requirements lowers the barrier for exploitation, increasing the risk of widespread data leakage. Although the vulnerability does not affect data integrity or availability, the confidentiality breach alone is significant, especially for organizations handling sensitive or regulated user data. This risk is amplified for European entities due to strict regulatory environments and high public awareness of data privacy.

European organizations using the ays-pro Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking plugin should immediately audit their WordPress installations to identify if they are running affected versions (up to 4.9.2). Until a vendor patch is available, administrators should restrict access to the export directories by implementing web server-level access controls such as .htaccess rules or equivalent configurations to deny public HTTP access to these directories. Renaming or randomizing export filenames can reduce predictability but is not a complete solution. Organizations should also review and limit the scope of data exported via CSV files, ensuring only necessary information is included. Monitoring web server logs for unusual access patterns to export directories can help detect exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should plan to update the plugin promptly once a secure version is released. As a longer-term measure, consider alternative secure export mechanisms that enforce authentication and authorization before allowing data downloads.