CVE-2025-14462 in Lucky Draw Contests Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 12/13/2025
The Lucky Draw Contests plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in all versions up to, and including, 4.2. This is due to missing or incorrect nonce validation in misc-settings.php. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to update plugin settings via a forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/13/2025
The Lucky Draw Contests plugin for WordPress presents a critical cross-site request forgery vulnerability that affects all versions up to and including 4.2. This vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of nonce tokens within the misc-settings.php file, creating a significant security gap that can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers. The flaw allows malicious actors to manipulate plugin configurations through forged requests, potentially compromising the integrity and functionality of affected WordPress installations. The vulnerability specifically targets the administrative settings interface where plugin configurations are managed, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged to alter critical system parameters without proper authentication.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs when the plugin fails to validate the authenticity of requests made to modify settings through the misc-settings.php endpoint. A nonce is a unique, time-sensitive token that WordPress uses to verify that a request originates from a legitimate source and is not a forged request from an attacker. The absence or improper validation of this security mechanism enables attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to come from authenticated administrators. When an administrator clicks on a malicious link or visits a compromised website containing the forged request, the system processes the request as if it came from a legitimate administrative session, thereby allowing unauthorized configuration changes.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple configuration manipulation, as it can potentially lead to more severe consequences within the affected WordPress environment. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to modify plugin behavior, inject malicious code, or alter contest parameters that could affect user participation and data integrity. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires no authentication from the attacker, relying instead on social engineering techniques to trick administrators into executing malicious actions. This makes it especially dangerous in environments where administrators frequently click on links from external sources or where the plugin is used in high-traffic scenarios where the likelihood of administrator interaction with malicious content is higher.
Security professionals should implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability, including updating to the latest plugin version where the nonce validation has been properly implemented. Organizations should also review their WordPress security configurations and consider implementing additional layers of protection such as web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious request patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to the privilege escalation and configuration modification phases of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, where adversaries seek to modify system settings to gain persistent access or disrupt services. Organizations should also conduct regular security audits to identify similar nonce validation issues in other plugins and themes, as this represents a common pattern of security flaws that can be exploited to compromise WordPress environments.