CVE-2025-2470 is a privilege escalation vulnerability affecting the Service Finder Bookings plugin for WordPress, which is part of the Service Finder - Directory and Job Board WordPress Theme developed by aonetheme. The vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 5.1. It arises from improper privilege assignment (CWE-266) in the 'nsl_registration_store_extra_input' function. Specifically, the plugin fails to restrict the user role parameter during account registration via social login, allowing unauthenticated attackers to create accounts with arbitrary roles, including the Administrator role. Exploitation requires that the Nextend Social Login plugin be installed and configured on the target WordPress site. This plugin integration is necessary because the vulnerability leverages the social login registration process to bypass normal role assignment checks. While no public exploits have been reported in the wild, the vulnerability poses a significant risk due to the ability to gain administrative control without authentication. This can lead to full site compromise, including modification or deletion of content, installation of malicious code, and access to sensitive data. The vulnerability was publicly disclosed on April 25, 2025, and has been enriched by CISA, indicating recognition by US cybersecurity authorities. No patches or updates have been linked yet, so affected sites remain vulnerable if they use the plugin and the Nextend Social Login integration.

For European organizations, this vulnerability presents a serious threat to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of WordPress-based websites using the Service Finder Bookings plugin combined with Nextend Social Login. Organizations relying on this plugin for directory, job board, or booking services could face unauthorized administrative access, enabling attackers to manipulate site content, steal user data, or deploy malware. This could result in reputational damage, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR violations due to data breaches), and operational disruptions. The impact is particularly critical for businesses in sectors such as e-commerce, professional services, and public sector entities that use WordPress for customer-facing portals. Given the ease of exploitation (no authentication required) and the potential for full site takeover, the threat could facilitate further lateral movement within organizational networks if the WordPress site is integrated with internal systems. Additionally, compromised sites could be used to distribute malware or phishing campaigns targeting European users.

1. Immediate mitigation involves disabling or uninstalling the Service Finder Bookings plugin and/or the Nextend Social Login plugin until patches are released. 2. Monitor for updates from aonetheme and Nextend Social Login developers and apply security patches promptly once available. 3. Implement strict role assignment validation by customizing the registration workflow to enforce role restrictions, potentially through additional plugins or custom code that overrides default behavior. 4. Restrict social login functionality to trusted user groups or disable social login registration if not essential. 5. Conduct regular audits of user accounts to detect any unauthorized administrator accounts and remove them immediately. 6. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious registration attempts exploiting this vulnerability. 7. Enhance monitoring and alerting on WordPress admin activities to quickly identify anomalous behavior. 8. Educate site administrators on the risks of third-party plugins and encourage minimal plugin usage with thorough vetting. 9. Consider isolating WordPress instances from critical internal networks to limit potential lateral movement if compromised.