CVE-2014-2265 in Contact Form 7
Summary
by MITRE
Rock Lobster Contact Form 7 before 3.7.2 allows remote attackers to bypass the CAPTCHA protection mechanism and submit arbitrary form data by omitting the _wpcf7_captcha_challenge_captcha-719 parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/08/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-2265 affects the Rock Lobster Contact Form 7 plugin for WordPress, specifically versions prior to 3.7.2. This represents a critical security flaw that undermines the fundamental integrity of the plugin's CAPTCHA protection system. The vulnerability resides in how the plugin validates form submissions, creating a pathway for malicious actors to circumvent security controls designed to prevent automated spam submissions and data injection attacks.
The technical flaw manifests through a parameter omission attack vector where remote attackers can bypass the CAPTCHA verification mechanism by simply omitting the _wpcf7_captcha_challenge_captcha-719 parameter from their form submissions. This parameter serves as a critical validation token that ensures the submission originates from a legitimate user who has successfully completed the CAPTCHA challenge. When this parameter is excluded, the plugin fails to properly validate the submission, allowing attackers to submit arbitrary form data without satisfying the intended security controls. The vulnerability directly relates to CWE-347, which addresses improper verification of cryptographic signatures, as the CAPTCHA mechanism essentially functions as a cryptographic challenge-response system that is being bypassed through parameter manipulation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple spam submission, as it enables attackers to exploit the contact form for various malicious activities including data exfiltration, spam distribution, and potential further exploitation of the WordPress installation. Since the CAPTCHA protection is bypassed, attackers can flood the target system with automated submissions, potentially overwhelming the server resources or using the forms to deliver phishing content. The vulnerability also creates opportunities for attackers to manipulate the form data to inject malicious content or redirect submissions to external servers, representing a significant risk to both the website's integrity and its visitors' security.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of the Rock Lobster Contact Form 7 plugin to version 3.7.2 or later, which contains the necessary fixes to properly validate CAPTCHA parameters. Organizations should also implement additional layers of security including rate limiting on form submissions, implementing more robust CAPTCHA solutions such as reCAPTCHA v2 or v3, and monitoring form submission patterns for suspicious activity. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls can help detect and block parameter manipulation attempts, while administrators should regularly audit their WordPress installations to ensure all plugins and themes are updated to their latest secure versions. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and the potential consequences when security mechanisms are bypassed through simple parameter manipulation techniques, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1213 for data from information repositories and T1078 for valid accounts.