CVE-2025-8678: Johnbillion/wp crontrol WP Crontrol Authenticated (Administrator+) Plugin Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-35c5-67fm-cpcp
CWE-918
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-8678 is a MODERATE wp crontrol authenticated (administrator+) plugin vulnerability (CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)) affecting Johnbillion/wp crontrol libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves wp crontrol authenticated (administrator+) plugin vulnerable to blind server-side request forgery. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.19.2.

CVE-2025-8678 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-8678
GHSA Identifier GHSA-35c5-67fm-cpcp
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
Affected Product Johnbillion/wp crontrol
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2025-8678

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Johnbillion/wp crontrol dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

johnbillion/wp-crontrol fixed: 1.19.2
Upgrade johnbillion/wp-crontrol to 1.19.2
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:

inspect dependencies for johnbillion/wp-crontrol

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2025-8678, inspect your project dependencies for Johnbillion/wp crontrol:

inspect dependencies for johnbillion/wp-crontrol

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Johnbillion/wp crontrol in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.19.2), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), where the web server receives a url or similar request from an upstream component and retrieves the contents of this url, but it does not sufficiently ensure that the request is being sent to the expected destination. In Johnbillion/wp crontrol, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Impact The WP Crontrol plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Blind Server-Side Request Forgery in versions 1.17.0 to 1.19.1 via the `wp_remote_request()` function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Administrator-level access and above, to make web requests to arbitrary locations originating from the web application and can be used to query and modify information from internal services. It is not possible for a user without Administrator level access to exploit this weakness. It is not possible for an Administrator performing an attack to see the HTTP response to the request to their chosen URL, nor is it possible for them to time the response. ### Patches WP Crontrol version 1.19.2 makes the following changes to harden the URL cron event feature: * URLs are now validated for safety with the `wp_http_validate_url()` function upon saving. The user is informed if they save a cron event containing a URL that is not considered safe, and the HTTP request will not trigger when the event runs. * HTTP requests are now performed via the `wp_safe_remote_request()` function in place of `wp_remote_request()`. This prevents an SSRF being performed. ### Workarounds Update the WP Crontrol plugin for WordPress to version 1.19.2 or later. If you are not able to update immediately, remove any Administrator level users who are not fully trusted. ### FAQ #### Is my site at risk? Your site is only at risk if an untrustworthy Administrator on your site decides to exploit this weakness in order to blindly send HTTP requests, either to external URLs or to internal services running on your server. These requests can only be performed asynchronously, which means the HTTP response cannot be seen nor timed, which significantly restricts the practical methods of exploiting this weakness. Separately, it is not possible for an attacker with database level access on your server to tamper with a URL cron event and perform an SSRF due to [the anti-tampering measures built in to WP Crontrol](https://wp-crontrol.com/docs/url-cron-events/). ### Thanks This issue was identified by [Jonas Benjamin Friedli](https://github.com/jFriedli) and reported to the Wordfence Intelligence Bug Bounty Program. [Security bugs should be reported through the official WP Crontrol Vulnerability Disclosure Program on Patchstack](https://patchstack.com/database/vdp/wp-crontrol). The Patchstack team helps validate, triage, and handle any security vulnerabilities.

CVE-2025-8678 Affected Johnbillion/wp crontrol Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.19.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
johnbillion/wp-crontrol
Packagist
≥ 1.17.0
< 1.19.2
1.19.2

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-8678?
CVE-2025-8678 is a security vulnerability in Johnbillion/wp crontrol involving WP Crontrol Authenticated (Administrator+) plugin vulnerable to Blind Server-Side Request Forgery under CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF).
Which Johnbillion/wp crontrol versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.19.2 across affected packages: johnbillion/wp-crontrol.
What version fixes CVE-2025-8678?
Upgrading to 1.19.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is johnbillion/wp-crontrol affected?
Yes, johnbillion/wp-crontrol is affected in releases prior to 1.19.2. Upgrade your dependency to 1.19.2 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-8678?
CVE-2025-8678 is classified under CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (The web server receives a URL or similar request from an upstream component and retrieves the contents of this URL, but it does not sufficiently ensure that the request is being sent to the expected destination.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2025-8678?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for johnbillion/wp-crontrol'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-35c5-67fm-cpcp",
  "modified" : "2025-08-19T20:41:10Z",
  "published" : "2025-08-19T20:41:10Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-8678" ],
  "summary" : "WP Crontrol Authenticated (Administrator+) plugin vulnerable to Blind Server-Side Request Forgery",
  "details" : "### Impact\n\nThe WP Crontrol plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Blind Server-Side Request Forgery in versions 1.17.0 to 1.19.1 via the `wp_remote_request()` function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Administrator-level access and above, to make web requests to arbitrary locations originating from the web application and can be used to query and modify information from internal services.\n\nIt is not possible for a user without Administrator level access to exploit this weakness. It is not possible for an Administrator performing an attack to see the HTTP response to the request to their chosen URL, nor is it possible for them to time the response.\n\n### Patches\n\nWP Crontrol version 1.19.2 makes the following changes to harden the URL cron event feature:\n\n* URLs are now validated for safety with the `wp_http_validate_url()` function upon saving. The user is informed if they save a cron event containing a URL that is not considered safe, and the HTTP request will not trigger when the event runs.\n* HTTP requests are now performed via the `wp_safe_remote_request()` function in place of `wp_remote_request()`. This prevents an SSRF being performed.\n\n### Workarounds\n\nUpdate the WP Crontrol plugin for WordPress to version 1.19.2 or later. If you are not able to update immediately, remove any Administrator level users who are not fully trusted.\n\n### FAQ\n\n#### Is my site at risk?\n\nYour site is only at risk if an untrustworthy Administrator on your site decides to exploit this weakness in order to blindly send HTTP requests, either to external URLs or to internal services running on your server. These requests can only be performed asynchronously, which means the HTTP response cannot be seen nor timed, which significantly restricts the practical methods of exploiting this weakness.\n\nSeparately, it is not possible for an attacker with database level access on your server to tamper with a URL cron event and perform an SSRF due to [the anti-tampering measures built in to WP Crontrol](https://wp-crontrol.com/docs/url-cron-events/).\n\n### Thanks\n\nThis issue was identified by [Jonas Benjamin Friedli](https://github.com/jFriedli) and reported to the Wordfence Intelligence Bug Bounty Program.\n\n[Security bugs should be reported through the official WP Crontrol Vulnerability Disclosure Program on Patchstack](https://patchstack.com/database/vdp/wp-crontrol). The Patchstack team helps validate, triage, and handle any security vulnerabilities.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:L/SA:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "johnbillion/wp-crontrol"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.17.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.19.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/johnbillion/wp-crontrol/security/advisories/GHSA-35c5-67fm-cpcp"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/johnbillion/wp-crontrol/commit/b085bd306588d7a9baed82de37f9d1818deafc44"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/johnbillion/wp-crontrol"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/johnbillion/wp-crontrol/releases/tag/1.19.2"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-918" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-08-19T20:41:10Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}