CVE-2025-6688VulnerabilityPublished 27 Jun 2025

CVE-2025-6688: Simple Payment (WordPress plugin) · Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel

Affects Simple Payment (WordPress plugin)Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.8 Critical.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

9.8Critical

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 42% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 27 Jun 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
idokd Simple Payment	Affected =1.3.6	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Immediate mitigation steps include disabling or uninstalling the Simple Payment plugin until a security patch is released by the vendor. Organizations should monitor WordPress administrative logs for unusual login activity or new user creation events. Implementing Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the create_user() function or related endpoints can reduce risk. Restricting access to the WordPress admin panel by IP whitelisting or VPN-only access can limit exposure. Regular backups of website data and configurations should be maintained to enable recovery in case of compromise. Once a patch is available, prompt application is critical. Additionally, organizations should review user accounts for unauthorized additions and reset passwords for administrative users. Security teams should also conduct vulnerability scans to identify affected instances and prioritize remediation accordingly.

Description

The Simple Payment plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass in versions 1.3.6 to 2.3.8. This is due to the plugin not properly verifying a user's identity prior to logging them in through the create_user() function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to log in as administrative users.

Impact

The impact of CVE-2025-6688 is severe for organizations using the Simple Payment plugin on WordPress sites. Successful exploitation grants attackers administrative access without authentication, enabling full control over the website. This can lead to unauthorized data access, modification or deletion of content, installation of backdoors or malware, and disruption of services. E-commerce sites relying on this plugin risk financial fraud, theft of customer payment information, and reputational damage. The compromise of administrative credentials can also facilitate lateral movement within an organization's network if the WordPress server is connected internally. Given WordPress's extensive use worldwide, the vulnerability could affect a large number of sites, especially those that have not updated or do not have compensating controls. The absence of known exploits currently provides a limited window for mitigation before active exploitation emerges.

Summary

CVE-2025-6688 is a critical vulnerability affecting the Simple Payment plugin for WordPress, specifically versions 1.3.6 through 2.3.8. The root cause is an authentication bypass stemming from improper verification in the create_user() function. This function is intended to create and log in users, but due to insufficient identity checks, attackers can invoke it without authentication and gain administrative privileges. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-288, which involves authentication bypass via alternate paths or channels. The CVSS v3.1 score is 9.8 (critical), reflecting the vulnerability's network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and full impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). Exploiting this flaw allows attackers to fully compromise affected WordPress sites, potentially leading to data breaches, defacement, or use as a foothold for further attacks. Although no public exploits have been reported yet, the vulnerability's nature and critical severity necessitate urgent attention. The lack of available patches at the time of disclosure increases the risk window. The vulnerability affects a widely used WordPress plugin, which is popular among small to medium-sized businesses for payment processing, increasing the potential attack surface.

CWE-288Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product requires authentication, but the product has an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication.
Architecture and Design
Funnel all access through a single choke point to simplify how users can access a resource. For every access, perform a check to determine if the user has permissions to access the resource.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
V1.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
V1.2.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Directory Indexing (opens in a new tab)
Exploitation of Thunderbolt Protection Flaws (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Feb 2026, 15:43 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-288

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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