CVE-2025-7049 is a critical vulnerability affecting the WPGYM - Wordpress Gym Management System plugin developed by dasinfomedia. This plugin is widely used to manage gym memberships and related user data within WordPress environments. The vulnerability lies in the 'MJ_gmgt_gmgt_add_user' function, where there is a missing validation on a user-controlled key parameter. This flaw allows an authenticated attacker with as low as Subscriber-level privileges to escalate their privileges significantly. Specifically, the attacker can manipulate this key to modify sensitive user information such as email addresses, passwords, and other account details of any user, including those with Administrator privileges. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-639, which refers to authorization bypass through user-controlled keys, indicating improper access control checks. The CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 reflects the high severity, with an attack vector over the network, low attack complexity, requiring low privileges but no user interaction, and impacting confidentiality, integrity, and availability at a high level. Although no known exploits are reported in the wild yet, the ease of exploitation and the potential impact make this a significant threat. Since all versions up to and including 67.7.0 are affected, any deployment using these versions is vulnerable. The absence of a patch link suggests that a fix may not yet be publicly available, increasing the urgency for mitigation.

For European organizations, especially those operating gyms, fitness centers, or wellness platforms using WordPress with the WPGYM plugin, this vulnerability poses a severe risk. Successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized access to administrator accounts, enabling attackers to take full control over the WordPress site. This can result in data breaches involving personal user information, including emails and passwords, potentially violating GDPR regulations and leading to legal and financial penalties. Furthermore, attackers could disrupt service availability by locking out legitimate administrators or injecting malicious content, damaging organizational reputation. Given the interconnected nature of many European businesses and the reliance on digital platforms for customer engagement, such a compromise could have cascading effects on business continuity and customer trust. The high severity and ease of exploitation mean that even less sophisticated attackers could leverage this vulnerability, increasing the threat landscape for European entities.

Immediate mitigation steps include restricting access to the WordPress admin and subscriber roles by implementing strict role-based access controls and monitoring for unusual account changes. Organizations should audit user activity logs to detect unauthorized modifications to user accounts. Until an official patch is released, consider temporarily disabling or uninstalling the WPGYM plugin if feasible. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the vulnerable function, especially those attempting to manipulate user keys. Additionally, enforce strong password policies and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative accounts to reduce the risk of account takeover. Regular backups of the WordPress site and database should be maintained to enable recovery in case of compromise. Finally, organizations should stay alert for updates from the vendor and apply patches promptly once available.