CVE-2025-10489 in SureForms Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/20/2025
The SureForms – Drag and Drop Contact Form Builder – Multi-step Forms, Conversational Forms and more plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized creation of forms due to a missing capability check on the register_post_types() function in all versions up to, and including, 1.12.0. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to create forms when the user interface specifically prohibits it.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/23/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-10489 affects the SureForms WordPress plugin, specifically targeting the permission control mechanisms within its form creation functionality. This issue manifests as a critical authorization flaw that allows authenticated users with Contributor-level privileges or higher to bypass intended access controls and create forms despite the user interface explicitly prohibiting such actions. The vulnerability exists within the plugin's core functionality and impacts all versions up to and including 1.12.0, representing a significant security regression that undermines the intended user access model.
The technical root cause stems from a missing capability check within the register_post_types() function implementation. This function is responsible for defining the post types and their associated capabilities within WordPress's content management system. When the capability check is omitted or improperly implemented, the system fails to verify whether the requesting user possesses sufficient privileges to perform the requested action. The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-863, which addresses "Incorrect Authorization" in software systems, where the application fails to properly enforce access controls for resources or operations. This authorization failure allows attackers to escalate their privileges through legitimate plugin interfaces that should normally restrict form creation to users with appropriate permissions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized form creation, as it represents a fundamental breakdown in the WordPress role-based access control model. Contributors typically have limited capabilities within WordPress, including the ability to publish posts but not to modify core system settings or create content types that require elevated permissions. However, this vulnerability enables these users to circumvent these protections and create forms that may contain sensitive data or be used to manipulate the website's content structure. Attackers could potentially exploit this to create forms that collect user information, redirect traffic, or serve as entry points for further attacks on the WordPress installation. This issue directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004, which covers "Valid Accounts: Cloud Accounts," as unauthorized form creation could facilitate data exfiltration or malicious content deployment.
The security implications of this vulnerability compound when considering that form builders often collect sensitive user data, making unauthorized form creation a potential vector for data breaches or malicious data collection. The fact that this vulnerability affects the plugin's core registration functions means that the issue is not limited to specific form templates or configurations but rather represents a systemic weakness that could be exploited across all form creation scenarios within the plugin. Organizations relying on the SureForms plugin for contact form management, multi-step forms, or conversational forms face significant risk from this authorization flaw, particularly in environments where multiple user roles exist with varying levels of trust and access requirements. The vulnerability essentially allows privilege escalation through the legitimate plugin interface, making it particularly dangerous as it operates within the expected user workflow rather than requiring unusual or suspicious actions that might trigger security alerts.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate plugin updates to versions that address this capability check deficiency, while administrators should also review user roles and capabilities to ensure that only trusted users have Contributor-level access or higher. Additionally, implementing network-level monitoring to detect unusual form creation patterns and conducting regular security audits of WordPress plugins can help identify similar authorization flaws in other components of the web application stack. The vulnerability underscores the importance of proper capability validation in WordPress plugins and highlights the need for developers to implement comprehensive access control checks for all user-facing functions that could potentially be exploited to bypass intended security restrictions.