Nazwa wtyczki	AL Pack
Type of Vulnerability	Authentication bypass
CVE Number	CVE-2025-7664
Pilność	Wysoki
CVE Publish Date	2025-08-15
Source URL	CVE-2025-7664

Urgent: AL Pack plugin (≤ 1.0.2) — Broken Access Control allows unauthenticated premium feature activation (CVE-2025-7664)

Data: 15 August 2025
Powaga: High (CVSS 7.5)
Affected: AL Pack Plugin ≤ 1.0.2
Exploitability: Unauthenticated — trivial to automate
Reported by: independent researcher

As a WordPress security team working on WP-Firewall, we investigate new plugin vulnerabilities every day. The recently disclosed broken access control issue in the AL Pack plugin enables an unauthenticated attacker to activate premium features using the plugin’s check_activate_permission function. That means anyone on the internet — without logging in — can flip on premium functionality intended only for licensed, authenticated users.

This is not a theoretical weakness. It’s straightforward to weaponize and, in the wrong hands, enables a range of follow-up attacks from privilege escalation to feature misuse and site manipulation. Below I’ll explain how the vulnerability works, what it enables an attacker to do, how to detect whether your site has been targeted or compromised, and practical mitigations you can apply immediately, including virtual patching with WP-Firewall.

Contents

• What happened (summary)
• Technical analysis — what the bug looks like
• Example vulnerable code and a secure fix
• Exploitation scenarios and impact
• How to detect exploitation (IOCs and forensic checks)
• Immediate mitigations for site owners (with command examples)
• Virtual patching and WAF rule examples for WP-Firewall
• Long-term recommendations for developers
• If your site was compromised — incident response checklist
• Why proactive protection matters (and how WP-Firewall can help)
• Secure Your Site Today — Start with WP-Firewall Free Plan

---

What happened (summary)

The AL Pack plugin contained a function — check_activate_permission — that performed premium-feature activation without properly verifying who was making the request. The function lacked proper authorization checks (no capability check, no nonce verification, no authentication requirement), and was reachable via a web-facing entrypoint (for example an AJAX handler or REST endpoint).

Because the activation code runs without confirming the caller’s identity, attackers can remotely invoke the activation routine and enable premium features. These features often register additional endpoints, integrations, or elevated capabilities that can be abused or combined with other vulnerabilities to take over a site.

Until an official patch is released, site owners must treat AL Pack installations as high-risk and apply mitigations immediately.

---

Technical analysis — what the bug looks like

Broken access control in WordPress plugins usually arises from one of these mistakes:

• Registering an AJAX action or REST route that does not require authentication or proper capability checks.
• Accepting parameters without validating or sanitizing them, and then updating options/users/files.
• Relying on obfuscation or expected “secret” parameters instead of real authorization.

In this case the check_activate_permission function appears to activate premium features (set a flag, update options, or invoke licensing logic) without validating user permissions. Typical vulnerable patterns:

• Missing current_user_can('...') checks for admin-only operations.
• Missing sprawdź_ajax_referer() or nonce checks for front-end/ AJAX calls.
• Using direct $_GET/$_POST parameters to trigger privileged behavior.

Hypothetical vulnerable pseudo-code:

// Vulnerable: no authentication or capability check
function check_activate_permission() {
    if ( isset( $_GET['activate_premium'] ) ) {
        // enable premium features
        update_option( 'alpack_premium_active', 1 );
        // maybe write license key or enable endpoints
    }
}
add_action( 'init', 'check_activate_permission' );

Or as an AJAX handler:

// Vulnerable if registered without proper permission callback
add_action( 'wp_ajax_nopriv_alpack_activate', 'alpack_activate' );
function alpack_activate() {
    // No check_ajax_referer, no current_user_can
    $license = sanitize_text_field( $_POST['license'] ?? '' );
    update_option( 'alpack_license_key', $license );
    update_option( 'alpack_premium_active', 1 );
    wp_send_json_success();
}

In both examples an unauthenticated request to a crafted URL can flip an option and turn on premium features.

---

Example of secure fix

Developers should ensure any action that changes site state or enables features performs at least these checks:

• If an admin action — require user authentication and capability, e.g. current_user_can('manage_options').
• For AJAX — require nonces (sprawdź_ajax_referer()) and use wp_ajax_ (authenticated) where appropriate.
• For REST — define permission_callback that enforces capability checks or requires an API key.
• Strict validation and sanitization of inputs.
• Limit actions to POST requests and check content type.

Patched/safe pseudo-code:

// Secure: enforce authentication and capability
add_action( 'admin_post_alpack_activate', 'alpack_activate' ); // only for logged-in users
function alpack_activate() {
    // Verify user can manage options
    if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
        wp_die( 'Unauthorized', '403', array( 'response' => 403 ) );
    }

    // Verify nonce
    if ( ! isset( $_POST['_wpnonce'] ) || ! wp_verify_nonce( $_POST['_wpnonce'], 'alpack_activate_nonce' ) ) {
        wp_die( 'Nonce verification failed', '403', array( 'response' => 403 ) );
    }

    $license = sanitize_text_field( wp_unslash( $_POST['license'] ?? '' ) );
    update_option( 'alpack_license_key', $license );
    update_option( 'alpack_premium_active', 1 );
    wp_redirect( admin_url( 'plugins.php?activated=true' ) );
    exit;
}

For AJAX endpoints intended for authenticated users:

add_action( 'wp_ajax_alpack_activate', 'alpack_activate_ajax' );
function alpack_activate_ajax() {
    check_ajax_referer( 'alpack_activate_nonce', 'security' );
    if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
        wp_send_json_error( 'Insufficient permissions', 403 );
    }
    // ... handle activation
}

For REST routes:

register_rest_route( 'alpack/v1', '/activate', array(
    'methods' => 'POST',
    'callback' => 'alpack_rest_activate',
    'permission_callback' => function ( $request ) {
        return current_user_can( 'manage_options' );
    }
) );

---

Exploitation scenarios & impact

What can an attacker do after activating premium features?

1. Enable additional endpoints or callbacks — Premium features may register extra admin pages, REST endpoints, or third-party integrations that have their own security surface. Once enabled, any latent bugs in those components become reachable.
2. Bypass licensing / monetization — An attacker can activate premium capabilities without payment. While that sounds like “just” revenue loss, it also often enables functionality that performs network calls, stores secrets, or elevates privileges in code paths.
3. Combined attacks — Activation might expose admin-level endpoints or AJAX actions previously disabled. An attacker can chain this with XSS, CSRF, insecure deserialization, or file upload vulnerabilities found in premium modules to gain full site control.
4. Supply chain & lateral movement — Many plugins connect out to license servers or remote services. An attacker could register a fake license endpoint to alter behavior, exfiltrate site data, or push malicious updates.
5. Persistent site changes — Activation typically writes options to the DB. Attackers can change option values, add cron jobs, or schedule code execution that persists beyond a single request.

Because the exploit does not require authentication, it’s trivial to automate scanning for vulnerable sites and mass-target WordPress installations.

---

How to detect exploitation (indicators of compromise)

If you run AL Pack on your site (≤ 1.0.2), check the following immediately.

A. Webserver access log patterns

• Requests to admin-ajax.php, admin-post.php, or plugin-specific REST endpoints with działanie or query parameters like activate, activate_premium, license, check_activate_permission, or similar.
• POST requests to plugin endpoints coming from unusual IPs, or large scan volumes in short time windows.

Example grep:

# Apache logs
grep -E 'admin-ajax.php|admin-post.php|alpack' /var/log/apache2/access.log | grep -E 'activate|license|check_activate_permission'

B. WordPress option changes

• Search wp_options for keys that the plugin uses (look for alpack, alpack_license, alpack_premium_active etc.).

SQL example:

SELECT option_name, option_value FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE '%alpack%';

Or use WP-CLI:

wp db query "SELECT option_name FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE '%alpack%';"

If you find alpack_premium_active set to 1 but you never activated premium features, suspect compromise.

C. New files or modified files

• Check for modified plugin files or new PHP files under wp-content/plugins/alpack/.

Use:

# from site root
find wp-content/plugins/alpack -type f -mtime -7 -ls

Or a checksum comparison with a known-good copy.

D. New users, changes to admin accounts

• Review the users table for newly created admin users.

WP-CLI:

wp user list --role=administrator --format=table

E. Cron jobs and scheduled events

• Review scheduled events for suspicious tasks:

lista zdarzeń wp cron

F. Outbound connections / DNS anomalies

• Check server network logs for unusual outbound connections around the time of activation attempts.

G. WAF / security logs

• Inspect WP-Firewall or other WAF logs for blocked requests to plugin endpoints. If you have web-application logs that show blocked activations, correlate with access logs.

H. File integrity scanner alerts

• If your site uses file integrity monitoring, look for alerts on plugin files.

---

Immediate mitigations for site owners (do this now)

If your site uses AL Pack and you cannot immediately patch (no official fix available yet), apply one or more of the following mitigations.

1. Disable or remove the plugin (best short-term defense)
   Deactivate AL Pack from the Plugins screen. If you cannot reach wp-admin:

   # via WP-CLI
   wp plugin deactivate alpack
   
   # or rename plugin folder
   mv wp-content/plugins/alpack wp-content/plugins/_alpack_disabled
   

2. Block access to vulnerable entrypoints via web server rules
   Prevent web access to the plugin’s PHP files or to admin-ajax/admin-post endpoints for unauthenticated requests.

Apache (.htaccess) example to block direct calls to plugin files:

<FilesMatch "^(.*alpack.*\.php)$">
    Order Allow,Deny
    Deny from all
</FilesMatch>

Nginx example:

location ~* /wp-content/plugins/alpack/ {
    deny all;
    return 403;
}

Note: blocking the entire plugin folder prevents any of its functionality — acceptable while you’re mitigating.

3. Add rule to block suspicious parameters
   Block any request that contains suspicious parameter names used to trigger activation. See WAF rules section below for example.
4. Restrict admin-ajax.php and admin-post.php to authenticated users
   Add a small plugin or mu-plugin to stop unauthenticated requests to these endpoints for actions that match a pattern.

Example mu-plugin (drop into wp-content/mu-plugins/block-alpack.php):

<?php
add_action('admin_init', function() {
    if ( ! is_user_logged_in() && isset($_REQUEST['action']) ) {
        $action = $_REQUEST['action'];
        if ( stripos($action, 'alpack') !== false || stripos($action, 'activate') !== false ) {
            wp_die('Unauthorized', '403', array('response' => 403));
        }
    }
});

5. Harden configuration where possible
   Enforce updates on third-party plugins (but remember: if an official update isn’t available, rely on blocking + removal).
   Ensure backups and restore points are current.
6. Monitor and log
   Turn on enhanced logging, keep for at least 30 days, and watch for repeated attempts.

---

Virtual patching with WP-Firewall — fast protection while waiting for an official fix

WP-Firewall can deploy a virtual patch (a WAF rule) to block exploitation attempts for this specific issue. Virtual patching is effective because it stops malicious requests at the edge before they reach vulnerable plugin code.

Suggested WP-Firewall rule(s) (examples you can apply or request from WP-Firewall support):

1. Block unauthenticated activation attempts to admin-ajax or admin-post
   Rule: Block any request to admin-ajax.php or admin-post.php where:
   • działanie parameter contains alpack, activate, check_activate_permission, Lub license I
   • the request is unauthenticated (no WordPress auth cookie).

   Pseudocode / regex:

   • Request URI matches: /(admin-ajax\.php|admin-post\.php)/
   • AND request_body or query_string matches: /(action=.*(alpack|activate|check_activate_permission|license|al_pack))/i
   • AND request does NOT include valid WordPress auth cookies (wordpress_logged_in_*)
2. Block direct calls to plugin front-facing files
   Rule: Deny any GET or POST request to URLs under /wp-content/plugins/alpack/ unless it includes a valid admin cookie or originates from a whitelisted internal IP range.
3. Block suspicious parameters globally
   Rule: Drop requests that attempt to set option names often used for activation: alpack_premium_active, alpack_license_keyitd.
   Regex: /(alpack_premium_active|alpack_license_key|check_activate_permission)/i
4. Rate-limit / reputation rules
   Rate limit requests from unknown sources that probe plugin endpoints — helps stop scanners and automated exploit attempts.

Example WP-Firewall custom rule (conceptual):

If REQUEST_URI contains "admin-ajax.php" OR "admin-post.php"
AND (REQUEST_BODY OR QUERY_STRING) matches /(alpack|al_pack|check_activate_permission|activate_premium|license)/i
AND Cookie does not contain "wordpress_logged_in_"
THEN Block request (403) and log details.

Why virtual patching helps:

• Blocks the attack vector without modifying plugin code or waiting for an upstream fix.
• Gives site owners time to plan a safe patch or plugin removal.
• Can be deployed globally across many sites to prevent mass exploitation.
• Reduces noise and protects lower-skilled sites from automated attacks.

If you use WP-Firewall, our security team can enable a targeted virtual patch for this issue immediately.

---

Detection scripts and useful commands

Quick checks you can run:

1. Check for activation flag in DB:

   wp db query "SELECT option_name, option_value FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE '%alpack%';"
   

2. Search for requests in access logs that include likely indicators:

   grep -Ei "admin-ajax.php|admin-post.php|alpack|al_pack|check_activate_permission|activate_premium" /var/log/nginx/access.log
   

3. Find modified plugin files:

   # list files modified in last 10 days
   find wp-content/plugins/alpack -type f -mtime -10 -ls
   

4. Look for suspicious cron events:

   wp cron event list --fields=hook, next_run, status
   

5. Identify new admins:

   wp user list --role=administrator --format=csv
   

If you find suspicious evidence, preserve logs and consider engaging a professional incident responder.

---

Long-term recommendations for developers and plugin authors

Plugin authors must assume any publicly accessible endpoint can be probed and attacked. Best practices:

1. Authenticate privileged actions
   Anything that modifies state MUST be protected by capability checks and nonces.
   For AJAX: prefer wp_ajax_ (authenticated) over wp_ajax_nopriv_ for actions that change options.
2. Use REST API permission callbacks
   When registering REST routes, always define a robust permission_callback.
3. Avoid writing flags/options directly from GET requests
   Use POST with nonce verification and sanitization.
4. Principle of least privilege
   Limit functions to users who actually need them, e.g. manage_options for site-wide features.
5. Defensive programming
   Sanitize and validate all inputs.
   Use WordPress APIs for options, users, and file handling.
   Log suspicious activation attempts for audit.
6. Security code reviews and automated testing
   Include security checks in CI, and run dynamic tests against public endpoints.
7. Transparent disclosure and VDP
   Maintain a vulnerability disclosure program and respond promptly with patches and advisories.

---

If your site was compromised — incident response checklist

1. Isolate the site
   Temporarily take the site offline or block public traffic while you investigate.
2. Preserve evidence
   Copy logs, dump the DB, and snapshot files.
3. Disable / remove the vulnerable plugin
   wp plugin deactivate alpack or rename the plugin folder.
4. Restore from a clean backup if possible
   If backups are known-good, consider full restore. Otherwise continue investigation.
5. Rotate credentials
   Reset all WordPress administrators’ passwords, database credentials, API keys, and any third-party service credentials the site uses.
6. Scan for web shells and malicious code
   Search for unknown PHP files, obfuscated code, or recently changed files.
7. Audit users and scheduled tasks
   Remove unknown admin users and cron jobs.
8. Clean up malicious DB changes
   Remove unknown options, rogue redirects, and malicious meta data.
9. Reinstall plugin from trusted source if needed
   Only reinstall after confirming official patch is available and you’ve audited files.
10. Monitor closely for re-infection
    Keep enhanced logging and WAF protection for at least 90 days.

If you’re unsure how to perform any of the above safely, consult a professional incident response provider.

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Why proactive protection matters

Broken access control bugs are among the highest-risk classes of vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins because they often grant immediate power to an unauthenticated attacker. The AL Pack issue is particularly worrisome: it requires zero authentication and can be discovered with simple automated scans.

Patching is the ideal solution — but official patches can take time. Virtual patching (WAF rules) and configuration hardening buy you time and stop attacks in their tracks. Defense-in-depth — combining WAF, file integrity monitoring, strong backups, and fast incident response — is the only practical way to reduce real-world risk.

WP-Firewall is designed to provide that protective layer, with fast rule deployment, logging, and the ability to isolate threats while you remediate.

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Secure Your Site Today — Start with WP-Firewall Free Plan

Take immediate steps to protect your WordPress site with a managed firewall and automated threat detection. Our free Basic plan includes essential protection that blocks common exploitation patterns, unlimited bandwidth, an enterprise-grade WAF, malware scanner, and mitigation for OWASP Top 10 risks — everything you need to defend against unauthenticated activation attempts like the AL Pack vulnerability.

Upgrade options are available (Standard, Pro) if you want automatic malware removal, IP blacklist/whitelist control, virtual patching, monthly security reports, and managed security services. Start protecting your site now:

https://my.wp-firewall.com/buy/wp-firewall-free-plan/

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Closing note from WP-Firewall’s security team

If you use AL Pack, treat this as an urgent issue: check logs, confirm whether premium features have been activated on your site without your consent, and take immediate mitigation steps. If you prefer not to patch in-place, disable the plugin and enable WP-Firewall’s protection rules until an official update is released.

If you run multiple sites or host customers, apply virtual patching at the network edge to stop mass exploitation. Our team can help you create targeted rules to block the exact attack vectors described in this advisory.

Stay vigilant — attackers move fast, but so can your defenses.

— WP-Firewall Security Team

Appendix (quick-check checklist)

• Do you have AL Pack installed (≤1.0.2)? If yes, begin immediate checks.
• Search access logs for suspicious activation attempts.
• Query wp_options for alpack-related flags and values.
• Deactivate/remove the plugin if you cannot patch safely.
• Deploy WAF rules to block activation endpoints and suspicious parameters.
• Run a full malware scan and inspect files for modification.
• Rotate credentials and audit user accounts.
• Keep enhanced monitoring in place for at least 90 days.