CVE-2025-49356 identifies a missing authorization vulnerability (CWE-862) in the Orders Chat for WooCommerce plugin by Mykola Lukin, affecting versions up to 1.2.0. This vulnerability stems from improperly configured access control mechanisms within the plugin, which allow users with limited privileges (e.g., authenticated users with low-level roles) to access or perform actions beyond their authorization scope. Specifically, the flaw could enable unauthorized access to order chat data or related functionalities, potentially exposing sensitive customer or order information. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.3 reflects that the vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L) and requires privileges (PR:L) but no user interaction (UI:N). The impact is limited to confidentiality (C:L) with no direct effect on integrity or availability. No public exploits or patches have been reported yet, indicating that organizations should proactively assess their exposure. The plugin is commonly used in WooCommerce environments, which power many e-commerce websites globally, including in Europe. Given the nature of the vulnerability, attackers could leverage it to gather sensitive order-related data, potentially leading to privacy violations or targeted phishing attacks. The lack of patches necessitates immediate compensating controls to mitigate risk until an official fix is released.

For European organizations, the vulnerability poses a risk of unauthorized disclosure of customer order information and chat communications, which could lead to privacy breaches and erosion of customer trust. This is particularly critical for e-commerce businesses handling sensitive personal and payment data under GDPR regulations, where data leaks can result in significant regulatory penalties and reputational damage. Although the vulnerability does not directly impact system integrity or availability, the exposure of confidential information can facilitate further attacks such as social engineering or fraud. The requirement for low privileges to exploit the flaw means that even compromised or less-privileged user accounts could be leveraged by attackers to escalate data access. Organizations relying on WooCommerce with the affected plugin versions are at risk, especially those with high transaction volumes or sensitive customer bases. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but also means attackers could develop exploits undetected. Overall, the impact is moderate but significant in the context of data protection and compliance obligations in Europe.

1. Immediately audit all user roles and permissions related to the Orders Chat for WooCommerce plugin to ensure that only trusted users have access to sensitive chat and order data. 2. Restrict plugin access to the minimum necessary user roles, preferably administrators or trusted staff only. 3. Monitor logs for unusual access patterns or attempts to access order chat data by unauthorized users. 4. Temporarily disable or remove the Orders Chat plugin if it is not critical to business operations until a patch is available. 5. Implement network-level controls such as web application firewalls (WAFs) to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the plugin endpoints. 6. Stay updated with vendor announcements and apply patches promptly once released. 7. Educate staff about the risks of unauthorized data access and enforce strong authentication mechanisms to reduce the risk of account compromise. 8. Consider additional data encryption or masking for sensitive order chat information to limit exposure in case of unauthorized access.