CVE-2025-3746 in OTP-less One Tap Sign in Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/02/2025
The OTP-less one tap Sign in plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation via account takeover in versions 2.0.14 to 2.0.59. This is due to the plugin not properly validating a user's identity prior to updating their details, like email. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to change arbitrary users' email addresses, including administrators, and leverage that to reset the user's password and gain access to their account. Additionally, the plugin returns authentication cookies in the response, which can be used to access the account directly.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-3746 affects the OTP-less one tap Sign in plugin for WordPress, specifically targeting versions between 2.0.14 and 2.0.59. This represents a critical security flaw that exploits the plugin's insufficient user identity validation mechanisms during account modification processes. The vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to properly authenticate users before allowing modifications to sensitive account information, creating a pathway for unauthorized individuals to manipulate user accounts without proper authorization. This weakness directly violates fundamental security principles of authentication and authorization controls that should be enforced before any account modifications occur.
The technical implementation flaw manifests in the plugin's handling of user detail updates, particularly email address modifications. When an attacker can manipulate account details without proper authentication verification, they gain the ability to change any user's email address including those with administrative privileges. This vulnerability operates under CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues, specifically targeting the lack of proper identity verification mechanisms. The flaw creates a direct attack vector that allows for account takeover through email address manipulation, which serves as the initial foothold for further exploitation. The plugin's response handling includes authentication cookies in its output, providing attackers with immediate access credentials that can be used to bypass additional authentication layers and directly access compromised accounts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass full account compromise and potential system-wide damage. Attackers can leverage the ability to change administrator email addresses to reset passwords and gain unauthorized access to high-privilege accounts, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The exposure of authentication cookies in responses creates an additional attack surface that allows for immediate unauthorized access without requiring additional exploitation steps. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and credential access, as attackers can leverage compromised accounts to maintain persistent access. The impact is particularly severe in WordPress environments where administrative accounts typically have extensive system control capabilities, making this vulnerability a high-priority concern for organizations relying on the affected plugin versions.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate plugin version updates to address the identified vulnerability, ensuring that administrators upgrade to patched versions that implement proper user authentication validation before account modifications. Organizations should also implement network-level monitoring to detect unusual account modification patterns and cookie exposure in API responses. The implementation of additional authentication layers, such as multi-factor authentication, should be enforced for all administrative accounts to provide defense-in-depth against similar vulnerabilities. Security teams should conduct comprehensive audits of all installed WordPress plugins to identify other potentially vulnerable components and ensure that proper input validation and authentication mechanisms are in place. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to proactively identify similar authentication bypass issues in other system components.