CVE-2025-12496

Zephyr Project Manager <= 3.3.203 - Authenticated (Custom+) Arbitrary File Read And Server-Side Request Forgery

2025-12-16 18:43
type5afe

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.3.204
Affected Plugin
Zephyr Project Manager
Affected Version
<= 3.3.203
CVSS
4.9Medium
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE-2025-12496
View all Zephyr Project Manager vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2025-12496 is a medium-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Zephyr Project Manager WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.3.203. It carries a CVSS score of 4.9 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Custom level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.3.204; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2025, reported by type5afe.

Vulnerability Overview

The Zephyr Project Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in all versions up to, and including, 3.3.203 via the `file` parameter. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Custom-level access and above, to read the contents of arbitrary files on the server, which can contain sensitive information. On a servers that have `allow_url_fopen` enabled, this issue allows for Server-Side Request Forgery

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality.

CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Reaching this weakness in Zephyr Project Manager <= 3.3.203 takes an account at Custom level or above. Path traversal happens when user-controlled text is used to build a filesystem path without being constrained to an intended directory, so sequences like ../ walk the resolved path somewhere else.

Depending on the operation, it means reading files outside the intended folder — wp-config.php being the usual target — or writing to and deleting paths the web server can touch. For Zephyr Project Manager the fix is 3.3.204: builds <= 3.3.203 are affected, anything from 3.3.204 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.3.204, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Custom access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Zephyr Project Manager 3.3.204 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-12496https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/2b4b0640-d61a-4969-a5c0-d2d709fb56d0https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-12496

Related records

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