CVE-2025-9808 in The Events Calendar Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/16/2025
The The Events Calendar plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 6.15.2 via the REST endpoint. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to extract information about password-protected vendors or venues.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/18/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-9808 affects The Events Calendar plugin for WordPress, a widely used event management solution that has been integrated into numerous websites across the internet. This particular flaw exists within the plugin's REST API endpoint implementation and impacts all versions up to and including 6.15.2, representing a significant security risk for WordPress installations that utilize this plugin. The vulnerability stems from improper access controls within the plugin's API handling mechanism, which fails to adequately verify user authentication status before exposing sensitive data.
The technical nature of this vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to exploit the REST endpoint to extract information about password-protected vendors or venues that are part of the event management system. This constitutes a serious information exposure issue where sensitive data that should remain restricted to authorized users becomes accessible to anyone who can make requests to the affected API endpoint. The flaw operates by bypassing the normal authentication checks that should prevent unauthorized access to protected content, effectively creating a backdoor through which attackers can gather detailed information about event-related entities that are typically protected by password restrictions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it can provide attackers with valuable intelligence about event management systems and their associated entities. Attackers can potentially gather information about vendor credentials, venue details, and other sensitive event-related data that could be used for further exploitation attempts or social engineering campaigns. This vulnerability particularly affects WordPress sites that rely heavily on event management features and have password-protected vendor or venue information, creating a pathway for attackers to understand the structure and content of these protected systems without requiring valid credentials.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations to address this vulnerability, including updating to the latest version of The Events Calendar plugin where the issue has been resolved. The recommended approach involves applying the vendor-provided security patch that addresses the improper access control within the REST endpoint implementation. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing additional security measures such as rate limiting on API endpoints, monitoring for unusual API access patterns, and ensuring that all WordPress installations maintain current security updates. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 which addresses improper access control, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in security architecture. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to technique T1213.002 which involves data from information repositories, and T1566 which covers credential harvesting through various methods, as attackers can potentially use the exposed information for further attacks against the system or its users.
The broader implications of this vulnerability highlight the critical importance of proper API security implementation within WordPress plugins, particularly those handling sensitive event-related data. The exposure of password-protected vendor and venue information represents a significant risk to event organizers who may have assumed their protected content remained secure. This incident underscores the necessity for regular security audits of third-party plugins, proper access control implementation, and maintaining current security practices within WordPress environments. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring solutions that can detect and prevent unauthorized access attempts to REST API endpoints. The vulnerability demonstrates how seemingly minor access control flaws can result in substantial information exposure risks, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security testing of all plugin components, particularly those that handle sensitive data through API interfaces.