Critical Authenticated Authorization Bypass in WP JobHunt//Published on 2025-10-09//CVE-2025-7374

プラグイン名	WP JobHunt
Type of Vulnerability	Authenticated Authorization Bypass
CVE Number	CVE-2025-7374
緊急	中くらい
CVE Publish Date	2025-10-09
Source URL	CVE-2025-7374

WP JobHunt <= 7.6 — Authenticated Authorization Bypass (CVE-2025-7374): What WordPress Site Owners Must Do Now

著者: WP-Firewall セキュリティ チーム
Date: 2025-10-09

TL;DR

A medium-severity authorization bypass (Broken Authentication / A7) was disclosed for the WP JobHunt plugin (CVE-2025-7374) affecting versions up to and including 7.6. An authenticated user with the “candidate” role can trigger actions that should be limited to higher-privileged accounts due to improper/insufficient authorization checks. A fixed release (7.7) is available — upgrade immediately. If you cannot upgrade right away, apply virtual mitigations, harden candidate capabilities, and deploy WAF rules to block suspicious requests and reduce risk.

This article is written by the WP-Firewall security team. It explains the vulnerability in plain technical detail, shows safe detection and mitigation strategies you can implement immediately (including sample WAF rules and WordPress hardening snippets), and describes incident response steps if you suspect an attack.

---

Why you should read this

• WP JobHunt is a widely used recruitment plugin. Authorization issues allow less-privileged users to perform privileged actions.
• The vulnerability requires authentication (a legitimate candidate account) but is easy to weaponize in large-scale campaigns where attackers can create accounts or compromise low-privilege accounts.
• You will get clear, actionable guidance: how to detect, how to mitigate now (virtual patching / WAF), and how to recover if your site has been affected.

---

What happened (high level)

An authorization bypass was discovered in WP JobHunt versions <= 7.6. The root cause is missing or incorrect capability checks on certain AJAX or REST endpoints and/or custom plugin actions. In practice, authenticated accounts with the “candidate” role or similar low-privileged accounts can access functionality that should be restricted to employers, administrators, or plugin administrators. The vendor released a patch in version 7.7 which properly enforces authorization checks and fixes the flaw.

Because the exploit requires authentication, the risk profile depends on whether your site allows public registrations or if attackers can obtain candidate accounts. Many job sites allow self-registration for applicants; if yours does, the vulnerability is more urgent.

---

インパクト

• Privilege escalation and unauthorized actions by low-privileged users.
• Potential to create/modify listings, modify application data, change user meta, or perform actions that can lead to admin account takeover — depending on which endpoints were affected on your particular site.
• If exploited, attackers may plant backdoors, create new admin accounts, or manipulate job listings to defraud or phish users.
• CVSS reported as 5.4 (medium), but real-world impact increases significantly on sites that allow open candidate registration or have insufficient monitoring.

---

Who is at risk

• Sites running WP JobHunt <= 7.6.
• Sites that allow public candidate registration.
• Sites where candidate accounts have been reused or where password hygiene is poor.
• Multisite setups where plugin role mapping differs or customizations exist.

If you host or manage multiple WordPress sites, prioritize those with public registration and high traffic.

---

Immediate actions (ordered)

1. Upgrade to WP JobHunt 7.7 (or later) immediately.
   • If you can apply the vendor patch now, do so during a maintenance window. Backup before upgrading.
2. If you cannot upgrade immediately, disable the plugin temporarily.
   • If disabling breaks your site, apply compensating controls below (WAF rules, role hardening).
3. Enforce strong authentication for candidate accounts: require strong passwords, enable 2FA for privileged accounts, and monitor for suspicious logins.
4. Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to virtual-patch the issue instantly by blocking the specific access patterns and endpoints.
5. Audit user accounts and database changes for signs of unauthorized activity.
6. Follow the incident response checklist later in this post if you suspect compromise.

---

Safe reproduction (technical summary without exploit code)

Responsible disclosure standards encourage sharing high-level reproduction details for defenders. The vulnerability arises when plugin code processes an incoming request (typically via admin-ajax.php, a custom AJAX route, or a REST API endpoint) and executes privileged actions without verifying that the current user has the correct capability or role.

Common manifestations:

• An AJAX action handler uses only ユーザーがログインしているかどうか() or checks the user ID, but not capability checks such as current_user_can('manage_options') またはカスタム機能チェック。
• REST endpoints register with ‘permission_callback’ returning true for authenticated users or not defined.
• The plugin assumes “candidate” cannot alter certain resources but uses insufficient server-side checks.

Because these are generic patterns, a WAF can be configured to block specific odd request routes and parameters while an upgrade is pending.

---

Detection: What to look for in logs and the database

A quick triage can reduce the risk and help you detect exploitation.

A. Web server / Access logs

• Sudden or recurrent POST requests to admin-ajax.php or plugin-specific endpoints with candidate credentials.
• Requests containing suspicious parameter combinations (for example, actions naming job_create, job_update, or user_update that originate from front-end candidate pages).
• Multiple different IPs creating candidate accounts quickly followed by calls to those endpoints.

B. WordPress activity & database indicators

• New admin users created after the disclosure date (check users table, wp_users.user_registered).
• Changes to usermeta where role or capabilities were updated: query wp_usermeta for meta_key = 'wp_capabilities' または meta_key like '%capability%'.
• New or modified job listings with unusual content or redirect URLs.
• New plugins/themes files or modified files — scan file modification times.

Sample SQL queries to detect suspicious changes:

-- New admin users created recently
SELECT ID, user_login, user_email, user_registered
FROM wp_users
WHERE user_registered >= '2025-10-01'
AND ID IN (
  SELECT user_id FROM wp_usermeta WHERE meta_key = 'wp_capabilities' AND meta_value LIKE '%administrator%'
);

-- Check for candidate role escalations
SELECT user_id, meta_key, meta_value, umeta_id
FROM wp_usermeta
WHERE meta_key = 'wp_capabilities' AND meta_value LIKE '%candidate%'
AND user_id IN (
  SELECT user_id FROM wp_usermeta WHERE meta_key = 'wp_capabilities' AND meta_value LIKE '%administrator%' 
);

C. WordPress debug and plugin logs

• Enable WP logging temporarily: define('WP_DEBUG', true); define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true); logs will write to wp-content/debug.log
• Search for failed or unexpected permission checks in plugin log output.

---

WAF & virtual patch: immediate protections you can apply

If you run WP-Firewall (or any WAF), the fastest way to reduce risk is to virtual-patch the affected endpoints and signatures. Below are defensive rules and suggestions you can implement in your WAF and server layers.

Important: Do not implement rules that break legitimate candidate functionality. Test rules in detection (log-only) mode first.

A. Block POST requests that escalate privileges

• Block POSTs to admin-ajax.php or REST endpoints where action parameters match job management actions, originating from front-end referrers or low-risk pages.

Example ModSecurity-style rule (pseudo; adapt to your WAF syntax):

# Block suspicious admin-ajax actions originating from front-end (virtual patch)
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" \
 "phase:2,chain,deny,log,msg:'Block suspicious WP JobHunt AJAX admin action from non-admin',id:1009001,severity:2"
  SecRule ARGS:action "@rx (job_create|job_update|job_delete|application_update|user_elevate)" \
    "t:none,chain"
  SecRule &REQUEST_HEADERS:Referer "@eq 0" "t:none"

B. Block REST endpoint access patterns

• If plugin exposes REST routes under /wp-json/wp-jobhunt/ or similar, add a rule to restrict write operations to authenticated users with appropriate roles (or block until patch).

Sample Nginx + Lua snippet concept (pseudo):

-- If request is to /wp-json/wp-jobhunt/ and method is POST/PUT/DELETE, require a valid admin cookie
if ngx.var.request_uri:match("^/wp%-json/wp%-jobhunt/") and ngx.req.get_method() ~= "GET" then
  -- Check for WordPress logged-in cookie and WP_USER capabilities via an internal auth endpoint
  -- Otherwise deny
  ngx.exit(ngx.HTTP_FORBIDDEN)
end

C. Rate-limit account creation and suspicious endpoints

• Limit number of registrations per IP per hour.
• Throttle calls to plugin endpoints that modify data.

D. Block suspicious parameter patterns

• Block or monitor requests that include fields usually reserved for admins, e.g., role=administrator, capability strings, or user meta keys in unexpected contexts.

E. Hard fail for intranet-only admin APIs

• If your site uses admin features only on private IPs, restrict those endpoints with IP allowlists.

F. Example safe WAF rule for StoryChief readers (explicitly avoid breaking functionality):

• Use detection mode first, log matches for 24 hours, then move to blocking once you confirm traffic patterns.

---

WordPress-level compensating controls (apply if upgrade is not immediately possible)

1. Temporarily disable public registration
   • Dashboard: Settings → General → uncheck “Anyone can register”
   • Or add filter in functions.php to return false for register_new_user() flows.
2. Harden candidate role capabilities (remove upgrade-able capabilities)
   • Use a capability manager plugin or add this snippet to mu-plugins (must be tested on staging):

<?php
// mu-plugins/wpjobhunt-hardening.php
add_action('init', function() {
    $role = get_role('candidate');
    if ($role) {
        // Remove dangerous capabilities that should never exist for candidate
        $dangerous = ['edit_posts', 'publish_posts', 'edit_others_posts', 'manage_options', 'promote_users'];
        foreach ($dangerous as $cap) {
            if ($role->has_cap($cap)) {
                $role->remove_cap($cap);
            }
        }
    }
});

3. Disable plugin actions that run in public context (temporary)
   • If the plugin registers actions via admin-ajax for front-end that are not essential, filter or remove_action them in a mu-plugin until patched.
4. Limit admin-ajax access to authenticated admins where possible (careful: could break front-end features)
   • Example approach: require a custom header or nonce check for sensitive admin-ajax actions, applied via mu-plugin.
5. Block access to plugin PHP files with .htaccess (temporary)
   • Example to protect plugin-specific files under /wp-content/plugins/wp-jobhunt/includes/:

# Deny direct access to plugin include files
<FilesMatch "\.(php)$">
  Require all denied
</FilesMatch>

Note: This can break plugin functionality. Use caution and test.

---

Monitoring & hunting tips (post-patch)

• Monitor user creation/role changes daily for at least two weeks after patching.
• Run file integrity scans: compare core/plugin files against known-good copies.
• Look for webshell signatures: unusual base64, eval(), preg_replace with /e, file_put_contents to uploads, etc.
• Check scheduled tasks (wp-cron) for newly added tasks.
• Export recently modified posts and pages and look for injected content or redirect links.

Use queries like:

-- Look for recently modified files recorded in DB (if you track uploads/attachment metadata)
SELECT ID, post_title, post_date, post_modified FROM wp_posts WHERE post_type='attachment' AND post_modified > NOW() - INTERVAL 14 DAY;

And search your server for suspicious PHP functions:

grep -R --include="*.php" -n --color -E "(base64_decode|eval\(|system\(|passthru\(|exec\(|shell_exec\()" /var/www/html

---

Incident response if you detect compromise

1. Isolate the site (maintenance mode, take it offline if severe).
2. Preserve logs and database snapshots for forensic analysis.
3. Rotate all admin and high-privilege passwords and invalidate sessions:
   • Use WP-CLI to invalidate sessions:
     wp user session destroy <user-id>
4. Check for new admin users and delete/disable any you did not create.
5. Restore from a pre-compromise clean backup where possible.
6. Remove malware/backdoors and update all plugins/themes/core to latest after cleanup.
7. Rotate API keys, tokens, and application secrets that may have been stored in the database or filesystem.
8. Reissue any credentials exposed in the breach.
9. Conduct a post-mortem: how the attacker gained foothold, what data or functionality was impacted, and apply preventative controls.

If you are unsure about cleanup, engage a professional incident response service experienced with WordPress. Time is critical: the sooner you isolate and remediate, the lower the damage.

---

How WP-Firewall helps (what we recommend and how our free plan helps)

As a security team building a WordPress firewall, our focus is on preventing abuse like this in three ways: virtual patching (fast WAF rules), behavioral protections (rate-limiting, anomaly detection), and enforcement of best-practice hardening (blocking dangerous patterns and stopping automated attacks).

What to expect from our approach:

• Rapid virtual patch deployment for newly disclosed vulnerabilities so sites are protected before they can be upgraded.
• Custom blocking for known malicious payloads and suspicious combinations of parameters used to exploit authorization flaws.
• Monitoring and alerting when suspicious activity patterns are present (mass registrations, repeated AJAX actions, anomalous role escalations).

Below you’ll find an invitation to get protected at no cost (free plan), plus upgrade options as your needs grow.

Get immediate, free protection with WP-Firewall

Protect your site right away by signing up for the WP-Firewall Basic (Free) plan — we offer a managed firewall with WAF, malware scanner, unlimited bandwidth, and mitigation for OWASP Top 10 risks. If you need automatic malware removal or advanced features like virtual patching and monthly security reports, our Standard and Pro plans upgrade the protection further.

Sign up or learn more here

---

Example WAF rule patterns — translated for common platforms

Below are readable patterns your security team can use as a starting point. Adapt the syntax to the filter engine you use.

1. Block suspicious admin-ajax actions from ordinary referrers:
   • Pattern: admin-ajax.php?action=(job_create|job_update|user_elevate)
   • Conditions:
     • メソッド: POST
     • Absence of valid admin referrer or nonce header
     • User agent and IP anomaly scoring
2. Throttle registration endpoint:
   • Pattern: wp-login.php?action=register または /wp-json/wp/v2/users (if used)
   • Action: Rate-limit 3 new registrations per IP per hour
3. Block REST write endpoints until patching completed:
   • Pattern: ^/wp-json/(wp-jobhunt|wp-jobhunt/v1)/.*$
   • Methods: POST, PUT, DELETE
   • Action: Block or require additional verification

---

Checklist: Step-by-step for site owners / admins

1. Confirm plugin version. If <= 7.6, treat as vulnerable.
2. Backup the site (files + database).
3. Upgrade plugin to 7.7 immediately if possible.
4. If you cannot upgrade, set plugin to disabled or apply WAF virtual patch rules (see examples).
5. Harden candidate role capabilities and disable registration if not needed.
6. Set up monitoring and scanning (file integrity, malware scans).
7. Audit users and recent site changes (posts, pages, users).
8. Rotate admin credentials and invalidate sessions.
9. Keep a close watch on server and application logs for at least 30 days.
10. If suspicious activity found, isolate site and follow incident response steps above.

---

Frequently asked questions

Q: Do attackers need an account to exploit this?

A: Yes — the vulnerability requires authentication (candidate role). However, many sites allow public registrations or attackers may already have compromised low-privilege accounts, so the risk remains high.

Q: Is there an available patch?

A: Yes. The vendor released patch in WP JobHunt 7.7 which fixes the authorization checks. Upgrade immediately.

Q: Can a firewall block this completely?

A: A WAF can greatly reduce risk by virtual-patching the vulnerable endpoints and blocking the traffic patterns used in known exploits. However, WAF is a mitigation — you should patch the plugin as soon as possible.

Q: Will disabling the plugin break my site?

A: It depends on your site. If the plugin provides critical functionality, test disabling on staging first. If you cannot disable, apply compensating WAF and role-hardening measures.

---

Closing notes from WP-Firewall

Authorization bugs are among the most dangerous flaws because they let attackers bypass business logic and privilege boundaries. Even when a vulnerability requires authentication, attackers can often obtain low-privilege accounts at scale or leverage credential reuse. Treat this vulnerability with urgency if you run or manage a site that allows candidate registration or has a high value for listing data.

We wrote this guide to be practical: patch if possible, virtual-patch if needed, monitor continuously, and follow incident response best practices if you detect suspicious activity. If you need immediate hands-on help, consider our security services — or start with our free managed firewall, which can provide an instant protective layer while you take the longer steps of patching and forensic review.

Stay safe, and update today.

---

References and additional reading

• CVE-2025-7374 (public record)
• Plugin vendor release notes (upgrade to 7.7)
• OWASP Top 10: Identification and Authentication Failures