CVE-2025-68989 is a vulnerability identified in the Contact Form 7 Extension for Mailchimp developed by Renzo Johnson, affecting all versions up to and including 0.9.49. The vulnerability allows an attacker to retrieve embedded sensitive information from data sent through the plugin's contact forms. Specifically, the flaw involves the insertion of sensitive data into the outbound data stream, which can be intercepted or accessed remotely without requiring any authentication or user interaction. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 reflects a high-severity issue with a vector of AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N, indicating that the attack can be performed remotely over the network with low attack complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction, resulting in a complete confidentiality breach. The vulnerability does not impact data integrity or availability. The plugin is commonly used in WordPress environments to integrate Contact Form 7 with Mailchimp for marketing automation and email list management. The exposure of sensitive data could include personal identifiable information (PII), email addresses, or other confidential form inputs, which attackers could exploit for identity theft, phishing, or further attacks. Although no active exploits have been reported in the wild, the ease of exploitation and the sensitivity of the data involved make this a critical concern. The vulnerability was reserved and published at the end of 2025, and no official patches or updates are currently linked, suggesting that users should monitor vendor advisories closely. The issue highlights the need for secure handling of sensitive data in third-party extensions and the importance of timely updates and audits in WordPress plugin ecosystems.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-68989 is significant due to the potential exposure of sensitive customer and business data transmitted via web forms integrated with Mailchimp. This could lead to breaches of GDPR and other data protection regulations, resulting in legal penalties, reputational damage, and loss of customer trust. Marketing departments and customer service portals using Contact Form 7 with Mailchimp integration are particularly vulnerable, as they often handle personal data such as names, emails, and potentially other sensitive inputs. The confidentiality breach could facilitate targeted phishing campaigns, identity theft, or unauthorized access to internal systems if attackers leverage the leaked data. Since the vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability, operational disruptions are less likely, but the data confidentiality loss alone is critical. Organizations relying heavily on WordPress and Mailchimp for customer engagement and data collection must consider this vulnerability a priority for remediation to avoid compliance violations and cyberattack consequences.

1. Immediately monitor for official patches or updates from Renzo Johnson or the plugin maintainers and apply them as soon as they become available. 2. Until a patch is released, consider disabling the Contact Form 7 Extension for Mailchimp or replacing it with alternative, secure plugins that do not exhibit this vulnerability. 3. Conduct a thorough audit of all contact forms and data flows involving Mailchimp integration to identify and minimize the exposure of sensitive information. 4. Implement network-level protections such as TLS encryption to secure data in transit and use web application firewalls (WAFs) to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the vulnerable plugin endpoints. 5. Restrict access to form submission data and logs to authorized personnel only and review access controls regularly. 6. Educate staff about the risks of data leakage and enforce strict data handling policies. 7. Monitor network traffic and logs for unusual access patterns or data exfiltration attempts related to the plugin. 8. Prepare incident response plans specific to data leakage scenarios to respond swiftly if exploitation is detected.