📄 Description (English)
Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 WordPress plugin through version 2.6.7 contains an uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in the Wpcf7cfMailParser class where the hide_hidden_mail_fields_regex_callback() method reads an iteration count directly from user-supplied POST parameters without validation or upper bound enforcement. Unauthenticated attackers can supply an arbitrarily large integer value through the REST API endpoint to cause unbounded loop execution with multiple preg_replace() operations, exhausting server memory and crashing the PHP process.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2026-25863 is a high-severity uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in the Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 WordPress plugin (≤2.6.7) that allows unauthenticated attackers to crash PHP processes through the REST API by supplying arbitrarily large iteration counts. This vulnerability enables denial-of-service attacks without authentication, posing significant risk to WordPress-based websites across Saudi Arabia. The lack of available patches makes immediate mitigation through alternative controls critical.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: May 8, 2026 13:37
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability poses significant risk to Saudi organizations using WordPress with the Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 plugin, particularly affecting: (1) E-commerce and retail sectors relying on contact forms for customer engagement; (2) Government agencies and municipalities using WordPress for public-facing services; (3) Healthcare providers using contact forms for patient inquiries; (4) Financial services and fintech companies using WordPress for customer communication; (5) Telecommunications and ISP providers. The unauthenticated nature of the attack makes it particularly dangerous for organizations without robust API rate limiting. Saudi organizations hosting WordPress on shared infrastructure are at elevated risk due to potential cross-tenant impact.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
E-commerce & Retail
Government & Public Administration
Healthcare
Financial Services & Fintech
Telecommunications
Education
Hospitality & Tourism
Real Estate
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
7.8
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Disable the Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 plugin immediately if not critical to operations, or restrict REST API access to authenticated users only
2. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block POST requests to REST API endpoints containing unusually large numeric parameters
3. Enable rate limiting on REST API endpoints at the web server level (nginx/Apache) to prevent resource exhaustion
4. Monitor PHP process memory usage and set aggressive memory limits in php.ini (memory_limit = 128M or lower)
5. Configure server-level alerts for PHP fatal errors and process crashes
COMPENSATING CONTROLS:
6. Implement IP-based access controls restricting REST API access to known trusted sources
7. Use ModSecurity or similar WAF to detect and block requests with iteration count parameters exceeding reasonable thresholds (e.g., >1000)
8. Deploy reverse proxy (Cloudflare, AWS WAF) with DDoS protection and rate limiting
9. Implement request validation at application level to reject POST parameters with values exceeding defined limits
DETECTION RULES:
10. Monitor access logs for POST requests to /wp-json/cf7/v1/* endpoints with large numeric parameter values
11. Alert on PHP memory exhaustion errors in error logs
12. Track REST API response times for anomalies indicating resource consumption attacks
13. Monitor for repeated failed requests from same IP addresses to REST API endpoints
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. قم بتعطيل إضافة Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 فوراً إذا لم تكن حرجة للعمليات، أو قيد وصول REST API للمستخدمين المصرح لهم فقط
2. طبق قواعد جدار الحماية (WAF) لحجب طلبات POST التي تحتوي على معاملات رقمية كبيرة بشكل غير عادي
3. فعّل تحديد معدل الطلبات على نقاط نهاية REST API على مستوى خادم الويب (nginx/Apache)
4. راقب استخدام ذاكرة عملية PHP وعيّن حدود ذاكرة صارمة في php.ini
5. كوّن تنبيهات على مستوى الخادم لأخطاء PHP القاتلة وأعطال العمليات
الضوابط البديلة:
6. طبق ضوابط الوصول القائمة على IP لتقييد وصول REST API للمصادر الموثوقة المعروفة
7. استخدم ModSecurity أو WAF مماثل للكشف عن طلبات معاملات عدد التكرارات التي تتجاوز الحدود المعقولة
8. نشّر خادم وكيل عكسي مع حماية DDoS وتحديد معدل الطلبات
9. طبق التحقق من الطلبات على مستوى التطبيق لرفض المعاملات التي تتجاوز الحدود المحددة
قواعد الكشف:
10. راقب سجلات الوصول لطلبات POST إلى نقاط نهاية REST API بقيم معاملات رقمية كبيرة
11. أصدر تنبيهات عند استنزاف ذاكرة PHP
12. تتبع أوقات استجابة REST API للكشف عن الشذوذ
13. راقب الطلبات المتكررة الفاشلة من عناوين IP نفسها
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
A.5.1.1 - Information Security Policies and Procedures (API security and resource protection)
A.8.1.1 - User Access Management (REST API authentication enforcement)
A.12.1.1 - Operational Change Management (plugin version control and updates)
A.12.4.1 - Event Logging (monitoring REST API abuse and resource exhaustion)
A.13.1.1 - Network Security (WAF implementation and rate limiting)
🔵 SAMA CSF
Governance & Risk Management - Vulnerability Management (tracking unpatched plugins)
Information & Cybersecurity - Application Security (REST API protection)
Information & Cybersecurity - Incident Management (DoS attack detection and response)
Operational Resilience - System Availability (resource exhaustion prevention)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.5.1 - Management Direction for Information Security (vulnerability management policy)
A.8.1 - User Access Management (API authentication controls)
A.12.2 - Change Management (plugin update procedures)
A.12.4 - Logging (REST API access and error logging)
A.13.1 - Network Security (WAF and rate limiting implementation)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
Requirement 6.2 - Security Patches (timely patching of vulnerable plugins)
Requirement 6.5.10 - Broken Authentication (REST API authentication)
Requirement 11.3 - Penetration Testing (testing for DoS vulnerabilities)