Overview
CVE-2025-1305 is a security vulnerability in the NewsBlogger theme for WordPress. This vulnerability allows Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), a type of malicious exploit where unauthorized commands are performed on behalf of an authenticated user, due to incorrect nonce validation in a critical function. The affected theme is used by thousands of WordPress bloggers, which puts a significant number of sites at risk. A successful exploit can lead to potential system compromise or data leakage, thereby causing significant damage to the site owner and its visitors.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-1305
Severity: High (CVSS: 8.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: System compromise, data leakage
Affected Products
No phone number, email, or personal info required.
Product | Affected Versions
NewsBlogger WordPress Theme | <= 0.2.5.4 How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability lies in the nonce validation of the `newsblogger_install_and_activate_plugin()` function. A nonce is a security token used to protect WordPress URLs and forms against certain types of misuse, malicious or otherwise. In this case, missing or incorrect nonce validation can allow an attacker to evade the security measures and perform CSRF attacks. The attacker can trick a site administrator into clicking on a malicious link, which forges a request that uploads arbitrary files. This, in turn, allows remote code execution by the attacker, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a conceptual example of how a CSRF attack exploiting this vulnerability might look. The attacker creates a malicious link or script that sends a POST request to the vulnerable endpoint.
POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=newsblogger_install_and_activate_plugin HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
plugin=malicious_plugin.zip&nonce=...In this example, the attacker has replaced the `plugin` parameter with a malicious file and used a forged `nonce` value. When clicked by an unsuspecting website administrator, this request would be sent and processed by the server, leading to the installation and activation of a malicious plugin.
Mitigation Guidance
To protect your WordPress site from this vulnerability, it is advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as it’s available. Until then, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation. These systems can help detect and block malicious traffic that attempts to exploit this vulnerability. Furthermore, administrators should be wary of clicking on unverified links to prevent CSRF attacks.