Critical Access Control Vulnerability in Razorpay for WooCommerce (<= 4.7.8): A Security Brief from Managed-WP

The Razorpay for WooCommerce plugin, up to and including version 4.7.8, has an identified broken access control vulnerability (CVE-2025-14294) that allows unauthorized users to modify order data. This flaw was responsibly disclosed by security researcher Marcin Dudek (CERT.PL) and resolved in version 4.7.9.

Unpatched installations may be exploited to tamper with order statuses and content, leading to unauthorized fulfillments, financial discrepancies, and reputational harm. Managed-WP security engineers consider this a significant risk to WooCommerce operators and offer actionable guidance to mitigate the threat immediately.

In this advisory, we will cover:

• Understanding broken access control vulnerabilities within WooCommerce plugins
• The potential impact on your eCommerce operations
• Assessment steps to determine your exposure
• Practical mitigation strategies, including Managed-WP security services
• Secure development recommendations for plugin authors

Our expertise supports WordPress and WooCommerce site owners across the U.S. with pragmatic security solutions designed to safeguard business continuity.

Executive Summary

• Vulnerability: Broken access control vulnerability in Razorpay for WooCommerce (≤ 4.7.8)
• Fix: Update to version 4.7.9 or higher
• CVE ID: CVE-2025-14294
• Severity Rating: Low (CVSS 5.3), but with meaningful business implications including fraudulent order modification
• Recommended Immediate Actions: Update plugin promptly, enforce Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules or virtual patches, consider temporary deactivation if update isn’t feasible

What Is Broken Access Control & Its Threat to WooCommerce?

Broken access control occurs when software executes privileged operations without sufficiently validating the user’s identity or permissions. In WooCommerce plugins, this vulnerability typically surfaces as unauthenticated AJAX handlers or REST endpoints that modify orders without proper authentication or capability checks.

Such weaknesses allow attackers to change order details—like status, payment flags, shipping information—often triggering shipment of unpaid goods or disrupting your financial audit trails. Even vulnerabilities with “low” CVSS scores mandate swift attention due to their direct impact on store operations and revenue.

Technical Breakdown of the Vulnerability

The root cause lies in missing or inadequate verification at order modification endpoints:

1. AJAX and REST routes accept requests unauthenticated (e.g., exposed via wp_ajax_nopriv_ or missing permission_callback).
2. Absence of nonce validation or capability checks (e.g., check_ajax_referer, current_user_can).
3. Unvalidated input used to update order metadata or status, allowing unauthorized changes.

Attackers can exploit this by sending crafted POST requests altering order states without logging in.

Potential Business Risks

• Fraudulent shipment triggered by marking unpaid orders as paid
• Financial reconciliation challenges due to tampered order totals
• Shipping goods to attacker-controlled addresses via altered shipping information
• Misleading order notes or metadata affecting downstream processes

The collective risk to your store’s finances, credibility, and customer trust is substantial.

How to Determine If You Are Vulnerable

1. Check your plugin version: Log into WordPress Dashboard » Plugins and verify if Razorpay for WooCommerce is running version 4.7.8 or earlier.
2. Inspect plugin code: Review plugin files for unprotected AJAX handlers or REST routes using commands like:
   grep -R "wp_ajax_nopriv_" wp-content/plugins/woo-razorpay
grep -R "register_rest_route" wp-content/plugins/woo-razorpay
3. Scan logs: Look for suspicious POST requests to admin-ajax.php or plugin-specific paths from unrecognized IPs.
4. Review recent orders: Validate any order status changes against payment provider reports to detect unauthorized modifications.

Immediate Mitigation Measures

1. Update Plugin: The definitive fix is upgrading to version 4.7.9 or later.
2. Deactivate Plugin Temporarily: If immediate patching is not possible, disable the plugin to block vulnerable endpoints.
3. Implement WAF Rules: Deploy managed firewall rules or virtual patches to block unauthenticated modification attempts.
4. Restrict Access to Admin-Ajax.php: Limit POST requests to authenticated users only via mu-plugin code or webserver rules.
5. Rotate API Keys and Webhook Secrets: Replace credentials potentially compromised by attempted exploitation.
6. Backup and Preserve Logs: Immediately secure backups and forensic data for analysis.

Sample WAF Virtual Patching Strategies

Applying these patterns can help block attacks until the plugin update is in place:

SecRule REQUEST_METHOD "POST" "chain,phase:2,deny,id:100001,msg:'Block unauthenticated order change'"
SecRule REQUEST_URI "/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" "chain"
SecRule ARGS:action "@rx (razorpay|modify_order)" "t:none,log"

location ^~ /wp-content/plugins/woo-razorpay/ {
    deny all;
    return 403;
}

Remember, these should be tested in a staging environment before production deployment.

Development Best Practices for Secure Endpoints

Plugin developers must enforce:

• Nonce verification: Use check_ajax_referer() for AJAX endpoints
• Capability checks: Ensure current_user_can() confirms user privileges
• Authenticated handlers: Avoid unauthenticated AJAX or REST endpoints modifying sensitive data
• Input validation & sanitization: Always sanitize incoming data before processing

Incident Response Workflow

1. Contain: Update or disable the vulnerable plugin and block attack vectors.
2. Preserve Evidence: Take backups, preserve logs including WAF and server logs.
3. Eradicate: Remove any malicious changes and rotate credentials.
4. Recover: Reconcile payments, restore from clean backups if needed.
5. Notify: Inform payment providers and affected customers appropriately.
6. Post-Mortem: Analyze root cause, update security policies, and test remediations.

How Managed-WP Protects Your WooCommerce Store

Managed-WP delivers advanced, US-based security expertise combined with proactive defenses tailored for WordPress and WooCommerce:

• Managed WAF and Virtual Patching: Blocks exploitation attempts automatically before you can update plugins.
• Real-Time Threat Monitoring: Identifies, alerts, and throttles suspicious request patterns and IPs.
• Malware Detection and Cleanup: Prevents persistence mechanisms like backdoors or web shells from attackers.
• Incident Notifications: Keeps you informed and ready to respond.
• Comprehensive Security Tiering: Choose plans from free essential protection to pro services featuring monthly reporting and priority remediation.

This defense in depth approach limits exposure and reduces your stress of managing site security.

Operational Security Recommendations

• Ensure prompt plugin and theme updates—test them in staging first.
• Regularly review and minimize active plugin footprint.
• Enforce strong, unique admin passwords and enable two-factor authentication (2FA).
• Apply least privilege principles to user roles, restricting order management to trusted users only.
• Monitor order flows for anomalies and establish alerting mechanisms.
• Maintain frequent, immutable backups stored off-site.
• Regularly audit plugin code for unauthenticated hooks and exposed REST endpoints.

Diagnostic Commands for Administrators

Execute these to detect potential weaknesses:

grep -R "wp_ajax_nopriv_" wp-content/plugins/woo-razorpay | head -n 50
grep -R "register_rest_route" wp-content/plugins/woo-razorpay | head -n 50
awk '$6 ~ /POST/ && $7 ~ /admin-ajax.php/' /var/log/nginx/access.log | tail -n 100

Inspect order status history with SQL:

SELECT p.ID, p.post_date, pm.meta_key, pm.meta_value
FROM wp_posts p
JOIN wp_postmeta pm ON p.ID = pm.post_id
WHERE p.post_type = 'shop_order'
  AND pm.meta_key = '_order_status_changed'
ORDER BY p.post_date DESC LIMIT 100;

Testing Plugin Endpoints for Security

Verify that unauthenticated POST calls fail expected permission checks, for example:

curl -I -X POST https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php 
  -d "action=razorpay_modify_order&order_id=123&status=completed"

A secure response will be HTTP 403 Forbidden or a JSON error indicating insufficient privileges or nonce failure.

Rolling Out Plugin Updates Safely

1. Test updates thoroughly in a staging environment with all customizations.
2. Complete functional tests for checkout processes, refunds, and webhooks.
3. Schedule maintenance windows with operational teams notified.
4. Prepare rollback plans and backups.
5. Monitor the site carefully for 24-48 hours post-update.

Summary

The broken access control vulnerability in Razorpay for WooCommerce (≤ 4.7.8) highlights the critical nature of rigorous authentication and authorization in eCommerce contexts. Plugin updates resolve this immediately, but a defense-in-depth strategy—including Managed-WP’s WAF and monitoring capabilities—ensures your store remains resilient against both known and emergent threats.

Get Started with Managed-WP Protection Today

If you operate a WooCommerce store, Managed-WP offers you essential security layers designed to neutralize risks such as CVE-2025-14294. Our Basic free tier provides managed firewall, malware scanning, and protection against common exploits, with easier upgrades to Standard or Pro for enhanced automated remediation.

Check out our plans and pricing here: https://managed-wp.com/pricing

Your Immediate Action Checklist

1. Verify if you have Razorpay for WooCommerce plugin ≤ 4.7.8 installed.
2. Update to 4.7.9 or later immediately.
3. If unable to update right away, deactivate plugin or apply temporary WAF/webserver restrictions.
4. Examine recent order and payment data for irregularities.
5. Prepare backups and log captures for investigative purposes.
6. Enforce strong permission checks on all plugin endpoints.
7. Rotate all potentially exposed API keys and webhook secrets.

Need assistance? Managed-WP’s expert security team stands ready to help you implement these controls and defend your WooCommerce environment.

Protect your checkout flow — protect your business.