CVE-2025-22325
📋 TL;DR
This CSRF vulnerability in Nik Chankov Autocompleter WordPress plugin allows attackers to trick authenticated administrators into executing malicious actions, leading to stored cross-site scripting (XSS). Attackers can inject malicious scripts that execute in victims' browsers when they visit compromised pages. This affects WordPress sites using Autocompleter plugin versions up to 1.3.5.2.
💻 Affected Systems
- Nik Chankov Autocompleter 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
Attackers could inject persistent malicious scripts that steal administrator credentials, deface websites, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform administrative actions on behalf of authenticated users.
Likely Case
Attackers create fake forms or links that trick logged-in administrators into executing actions that inject malicious JavaScript into website content, affecting all visitors who view the compromised pages.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF protections and content security policies, the attack surface is reduced, but the vulnerability still exists in the codebase.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick authenticated users into clicking malicious links or submitting forms. The CSRF leads to stored XSS payload injection.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version after 1.3.5.2
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Autocompleter' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If no update available, deactivate and delete plugin, then install latest version from WordPress repository.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement CSRF Tokens Manually
allAdd CSRF protection tokens to forms and validate them on submission
Content Security Policy (CSP)
allImplement CSP headers to restrict script execution sources
Add to .htaccess: Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'"
Add to wp-config.php: header("Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'");
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable or remove the Autocompleter plugin immediately
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block CSRF attempts and XSS payloads
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins, find Autocompleter and check version numberCheck Version:
wp plugin list --name=autocompleter --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is higher than 1.3.5.2 in WordPress admin panel📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to admin-ajax.php or plugin endpoints
- Multiple failed CSRF token validations
- Suspicious form submissions from unexpected referrers
Network Indicators:
- Requests with missing or invalid CSRF tokens
- POST requests to plugin endpoints from unexpected sources
- JavaScript injection patterns in form data
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("admin-ajax.php" OR "autocompleter") AND (POST AND NOT "_wpnonce")