CVE-2025-12042 in Course Booking System Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 11/08/2025
The Course Booking System plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of data due to a missing capability check in the csv-export.php file in all versions up to, and including, 6.1.5. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to directly access the file and obtain an export of all booking data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/09/2025
The Course Booking System plugin for WordPress presents a critical security vulnerability classified as CVE-2025-12042, which stems from a fundamental flaw in the plugin's access control mechanisms. This vulnerability exists within the csv-export.php file and affects all versions up to and including 6.1.5, creating a significant risk for WordPress sites that rely on this plugin for course management and booking systems. The flaw represents a classic authorization bypass vulnerability that undermines the core security principles of web application design and access control.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability lies in the absence of proper capability checks within the csv-export.php file, which serves as the entry point for exporting booking data in csv format. This missing validation allows any unauthenticated user to directly access the export functionality without requiring proper authentication or authorization. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-863, which describes "Incorrect Authorization" where the application fails to properly verify that the user has the necessary permissions to access a given resource. The flaw essentially removes the authentication barrier that should normally prevent unauthorized access to sensitive booking data, including personal information of course participants, booking details, and potentially payment information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching for organizations using the Course Booking System plugin. Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this weakness to gain access to comprehensive booking data, potentially including personal identifiable information of course participants, contact details, booking timestamps, and other sensitive information related to course enrollment. This data exposure can lead to privacy violations, identity theft, and potential financial fraud if payment information is included in the exported data. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality aspect of the CIA triad and can result in compliance violations under regulations such as gdpr, ccpa, and other data protection frameworks. The attack surface is particularly concerning because the vulnerability requires no authentication credentials and can be exploited through direct URL access.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of the Course Booking System plugin to the latest version that addresses this authorization flaw. System administrators should also implement network-level restrictions to limit access to the csv-export.php endpoint until the patch is applied. Additional defensive measures include monitoring access logs for unauthorized attempts to access the export functionality, implementing web application firewalls with rules to block direct access to sensitive plugin files, and conducting thorough security audits of all WordPress plugins to identify similar authorization bypass vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing principle of least privilege access controls and regular security assessments to prevent similar issues in other components of their web applications. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper capability checks and access control validation in web applications, as outlined in the mitre attack framework under the privilege escalation and credential access tactics.