CVE-2025-23573
📋 TL;DR
A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the WP Background Tile WordPress plugin allows attackers to perform stored cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. This affects WordPress sites using WP Background Tile version 1.0 and earlier. Attackers can trick authenticated administrators into executing malicious actions that inject persistent scripts.
💻 Affected Systems
- WP Background Tile 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 malicious JavaScript that steals administrator credentials, redirects users to malicious sites, or takes full control of the WordPress site when administrators view affected pages.
Likely Case
Attackers create fake forms or links that trick logged-in administrators into unknowingly injecting malicious scripts into the site, leading to session hijacking or defacement.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF tokens and input validation, the attack chain is broken, preventing unauthorized script injection even if administrators are tricked.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick an authenticated administrator into clicking a malicious link or form. No public exploit code is known.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version after 1.0 (check plugin repository for latest)
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find WP Background Tile and click 'Update Now' if available. 4. If no update is available, deactivate and delete the plugin immediately.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement CSRF Protection Manually
WordPressAdd nonce verification to plugin forms if you have development access.
Edit plugin PHP files to add wp_nonce_field() and wp_verify_nonce() checks
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Deactivate and remove the WP Background Tile plugin immediately.
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block CSRF attempts and XSS payloads.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins for WP Background Tile version 1.0 or earlier.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name='wp-background-tile' --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify the plugin is either updated to a version after 1.0 or completely removed from the plugins directory.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or plugin-specific endpoints without referrer headers
- Multiple failed nonce verification attempts in WordPress debug logs
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests with suspicious JavaScript payloads in parameters
- CSRF attack patterns like same-origin policy violations
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("wp-background-tile" OR "admin-ajax.php") AND ("nonce" OR "csrf")