CVE-2025-11576
📋 TL;DR
This CSV injection vulnerability in the AI Chatbot Free Models WordPress plugin allows unauthenticated attackers to embed malicious formulas in exported chat message files. When victims download and open these CSV files in spreadsheet applications like Excel, arbitrary code execution can occur on their local systems. All WordPress sites using this plugin up to version 1.6.5 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- AI Chatbot Free Models – Customer Support, Live Chat, Virtual Assistant WordPress plugin
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution on victim's workstation when they open a malicious CSV file, potentially leading to full system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.
Likely Case
Limited to users who download and open exported CSV files, potentially causing local code execution or data manipulation on individual workstations.
If Mitigated
No impact if users don't download CSV files or if spreadsheet applications have security features enabled to block formula execution.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to convince users to download and open CSV files. No authentication needed to trigger export.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version after 1.6.5 (check WordPress plugin repository)
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3378450/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'AI Chatbot Free Models' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. If no update appears, manually download latest version from WordPress repository and replace plugin files.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable CSV Export Feature
WordPressRemove or restrict access to the chat message export functionality
Add to theme's functions.php: remove_action('admin_menu', 'newcodebyte_chatbot_export_messages');
Input Sanitization Filter
WordPressAdd custom sanitization to strip formula characters from exported data
Add filter: add_filter('newcodebyte_chatbot_export_data', function($data) { return preg_replace('/^[=+\-@]/', '', $data); });
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable the AI Chatbot Free Models plugin completely
- Implement web application firewall rules to block CSV export requests
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for 'AI Chatbot Free Models' version 1.6.5 or earlierCheck Version:
wp plugin list --name='AI Chatbot Free Models' --field=version (WP-CLI) or check plugin details in WordPress adminVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is higher than 1.6.5 and test CSV export functionality with formula payloads📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple requests to export chat messages endpoint
- CSV downloads with unusual filenames or sizes
Network Indicators:
- POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=newcodebyte_chatbot_export_messages
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND (uri_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND parameters.action="newcodebyte_chatbot_export_messages")