CVE-2025-2111
📋 TL;DR
This CSRF vulnerability in the Insert Headers And Footers WordPress plugin allows attackers to trick administrators into clicking malicious links that change WordPress settings. Attackers can enable user registration and set the default role to administrator, gaining full site control. All WordPress sites using plugin versions up to 3.1.1 are affected when WPBRIGADE_SDK__DEV_MODE is set to true.
💻 Affected Systems
- Insert Headers And Footers 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
Complete site takeover where attackers create administrator accounts and gain full control over the WordPress installation, potentially leading to data theft, defacement, or malware distribution.
Likely Case
Attackers create administrator accounts and gain persistent access to the WordPress dashboard, enabling content manipulation, plugin/theme installation, and further privilege escalation.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF protections and admin awareness training, exploitation attempts fail, maintaining site integrity with no unauthorized changes.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick an administrator into clicking a malicious link. No authentication needed for the attack itself once the link is clicked.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version 3.1.2 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3276361/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Insert Headers And Footers'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available, or download version 3.1.2+ from WordPress.org. 5. Activate the updated plugin.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Development Mode
allSet WPBRIGADE_SDK__DEV_MODE constant to false in wp-config.php to prevent exploitation
Edit wp-config.php and add: define('WPBRIGADE_SDK__DEV_MODE', false);
Temporary Plugin Deactivation
linuxDeactivate the plugin until patched to eliminate the attack surface
wp plugin deactivate insert-headers-and-footers
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit cross-site requests
- Use WordPress security plugins that add CSRF protection layers and monitor for unauthorized setting changes
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check plugin version in WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins. If version is 3.1.1 or lower and WPBRIGADE_SDK__DEV_MODE is true, the site is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get insert-headers-and-footers --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 3.1.2 or higher in WordPress admin panel and check that user registration settings remain unchanged.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected changes to WordPress options table, particularly user registration settings
- Administrator account creation from unusual IP addresses
- wp_options table modifications without corresponding admin actions
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to admin-ajax.php or admin-post.php with custom_plugin_set_option parameter
- Cross-origin requests to WordPress admin endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("custom_plugin_set_option" OR "default_role"="administrator" OR "users_can_register"="1")🔗 References
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-headers-and-footers/trunk/lib/wpb-sdk/views/wpb-debug.php#L63
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-headers-and-footers/trunk/lib/wpb-sdk/views/wpb-debug.php#L69
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3276361/
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/7b00d175-261d-46e3-bf3c-2d18f4e4972d?source=cve
