CVE-2025-49356 identifies a Missing Authorization vulnerability (CWE-862) in the Orders Chat for WooCommerce plugin developed by Mykola Lukin, affecting versions up to 1.2.0. This vulnerability stems from improperly configured access control mechanisms within the plugin, which fail to adequately restrict user permissions. As a result, users with low-level privileges (PR:L) can access or perform actions that should be restricted, potentially exposing sensitive order chat information. The vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network (AV:N) without requiring user interaction (UI:N), which increases its risk profile. However, the attack complexity is low (AC:L), meaning exploitation does not require advanced skills or conditions. The impact primarily affects confidentiality (C:L), with no direct impact on integrity or availability. The scope remains unchanged (S:U), indicating the vulnerability affects only the vulnerable component and not other system parts. Currently, there are no known exploits in the wild, and no patches have been published yet. The vulnerability was reserved in June 2025 and published at the end of 2025, suggesting it is a recent discovery. The plugin is used within WooCommerce, a widely adopted e-commerce platform on WordPress, which is popular across Europe. The vulnerability could allow unauthorized access to order chat data, potentially leaking customer information or business-sensitive communications. This risk is particularly relevant for online retailers relying on this plugin for customer interaction and order management.

For European organizations, especially e-commerce businesses using WooCommerce with the Orders Chat plugin, this vulnerability poses a risk of unauthorized access to order-related chat data. Exposure of such data could lead to confidentiality breaches involving customer information, order details, and potentially sensitive business communications. While the vulnerability does not affect data integrity or system availability, the leakage of confidential information can damage customer trust, lead to regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR), and result in reputational harm. The ease of exploitation combined with network accessibility means attackers could leverage this flaw to gather intelligence or conduct further targeted attacks. Since WooCommerce is widely used in Europe, particularly in countries with large e-commerce markets like the UK, Germany, and France, the potential impact is significant. Organizations that do not promptly address this vulnerability may face increased risk of data breaches and associated legal and financial consequences.

1. Monitor for official patches or updates from the plugin developer and apply them immediately once available. 2. Until patches are released, restrict access to the Orders Chat plugin features by limiting user roles and permissions to only trusted personnel. 3. Conduct a thorough review of the WooCommerce user roles and capabilities to ensure no excessive privileges are granted that could be exploited. 4. Implement network-level controls such as web application firewalls (WAF) to detect and block suspicious access patterns targeting the plugin endpoints. 5. Enable detailed logging and monitoring of plugin usage and access to order chat data to detect unauthorized attempts. 6. Educate administrators and users about the risks of this vulnerability and encourage prompt reporting of unusual behavior. 7. Consider temporarily disabling the Orders Chat plugin if it is not critical to business operations until a secure version is available. 8. Regularly audit all third-party plugins for security compliance and update them proactively to reduce exposure to similar vulnerabilities.