CVE-2025-14444 is a vulnerability identified in the WordPress plugin RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login, which is widely used to manage paid user registrations and payments. The vulnerability stems from insufficient verification of data authenticity (CWE-345) in the 'process_paypal_sdk_payment' function. Specifically, the plugin trusts client-supplied payment status data without validating it against PayPal's servers, allowing attackers to manipulate the payment status parameter. This flaw enables unauthenticated attackers to bypass the payment process entirely, activating accounts without completing legitimate PayPal transactions. The vulnerability affects all plugin versions up to and including 6.0.6.9. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.3 (medium), reflecting that the attack vector is network-based with no privileges or user interaction required, but the impact is limited to integrity (unauthorized activation) without affecting confidentiality or availability. No patches or official fixes are currently linked, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild. The vulnerability could be exploited remotely by submitting crafted requests to the vulnerable function, making it a significant risk for websites relying on this plugin for paid registrations or services.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to the integrity of paid registration processes. Attackers can fraudulently activate accounts without payment, leading to direct financial losses and undermining trust in e-commerce or subscription-based services. This can also result in inflated user counts, skewing analytics and potentially enabling further abuse such as spam or fraudulent transactions. While confidentiality and availability are not directly impacted, the integrity breach could facilitate secondary attacks or reputational damage. Organizations relying on this plugin for critical business functions, especially those handling large volumes of paid registrations, may face operational disruptions and financial impact. The ease of exploitation and lack of authentication requirements increase the threat level, particularly for small and medium enterprises that may lack robust monitoring or incident response capabilities.

Immediate mitigation involves implementing server-side verification of PayPal payment status by integrating PayPal's payment verification API or IPN (Instant Payment Notification) to confirm transactions before activating accounts. Organizations should update to a patched version once available or apply custom patches to enforce payment validation. Until a patch is released, disabling the payment bypass functionality or switching to alternative plugins with secure payment verification is recommended. Web application firewalls (WAFs) can be configured to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the 'process_paypal_sdk_payment' endpoint. Regular monitoring of registration logs for anomalous patterns, such as sudden spikes in paid account activations without corresponding payment records, can help detect exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should educate developers and administrators about secure payment processing best practices and conduct security audits on third-party plugins.