CVE-2025-48267 is a high-severity vulnerability classified under CWE-22, which refers to Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory, commonly known as a Path Traversal vulnerability. This flaw exists in the ThimPress WP Pipes plugin for WordPress, affecting versions up to and including 1.4.2. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to manipulate file path inputs to access files and directories outside the intended restricted directory. Exploiting this vulnerability does not require any user interaction or privileges, and can be performed over the network (remote attack vector). According to the CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H), the attack complexity is low, no privileges or user interaction are required, and the scope is changed, meaning the vulnerability impacts resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. The impact is specifically on availability (A:H), indicating that exploitation can cause denial of service or disruption of service, but does not affect confidentiality or integrity directly. Although no known exploits are reported in the wild yet, the high CVSS score of 8.6 reflects the serious risk posed by this vulnerability. Path traversal vulnerabilities can be leveraged to read sensitive files, disrupt service, or potentially execute further attacks depending on the environment. WP Pipes is a WordPress plugin used to automate content aggregation and manipulation workflows, so exploitation could disrupt website functionality or availability.

For European organizations using WordPress websites with the WP Pipes plugin, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to website availability. Disruption of content aggregation workflows could lead to downtime or degraded user experience, impacting business operations and reputation. While confidentiality and integrity are not directly impacted, denial of service or resource exhaustion could affect critical web services. Organizations in sectors relying heavily on web presence, such as e-commerce, media, and public services, could face operational and financial consequences. Additionally, the changed scope of the vulnerability means that the impact could extend beyond the plugin itself, potentially affecting other components or services hosted on the same server. Given the widespread use of WordPress in Europe, the threat is relevant to a broad range of organizations, especially those that have not yet updated or patched the plugin. The lack of authentication requirement increases the risk of automated exploitation attempts by attackers scanning for vulnerable sites.

Specific mitigation steps include: 1) Immediate identification of all WordPress instances using the WP Pipes plugin and verifying the version in use. 2) Applying any available patches or updates from ThimPress as soon as they are released; if no patch is currently available, consider temporarily disabling or uninstalling the WP Pipes plugin to eliminate the attack surface. 3) Implementing web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block path traversal attack patterns targeting the plugin endpoints. 4) Restricting file system permissions for the web server user to limit access to sensitive directories and files, minimizing the impact of any traversal attempts. 5) Monitoring web server logs for suspicious requests containing path traversal sequences (e.g., ../) and unusual access patterns. 6) Employing network-level protections such as rate limiting and IP reputation filtering to reduce the risk of automated scanning and exploitation. 7) Conducting security awareness and incident response preparedness to quickly detect and respond to any exploitation attempts. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on plugin-specific identification, temporary disabling, and targeted WAF rules.