CVE-2025-23673
📋 TL;DR
A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the WordPress Email on Publish plugin allows attackers to perform stored cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. This affects WordPress sites using Email on Publish plugin versions up to 1.5. Attackers can trick authenticated administrators into executing malicious actions.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress Email on Publish 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 inject persistent malicious scripts that execute in administrators' browsers, potentially leading to complete site takeover, data theft, or malware distribution to visitors.
Likely Case
Attackers inject malicious JavaScript that steals administrator session cookies or credentials, leading to unauthorized administrative access.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF protections and content security policies, the attack would fail or have limited impact.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires social engineering to trick authenticated administrator into clicking malicious link while logged in.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version after 1.5
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Email on Publish' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If no update available, deactivate and remove plugin immediately.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement CSRF Protection Headers
allAdd Content-Security-Policy headers to prevent XSS execution
Add to .htaccess: Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'"
Add to wp-config.php: header('X-Frame-Options: DENY');
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Deactivate and remove the Email on Publish plugin immediately
- Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to block inline script execution
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for Email on Publish version 1.5 or earlierCheck Version:
wp plugin list --name='email-on-publish' --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is greater than 1.5 or plugin is completely removed📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or plugin endpoints
- Multiple failed CSRF token validations
- Unexpected plugin activation/deactivation events
Network Indicators:
- Requests with suspicious JavaScript payloads in parameters
- Cross-origin requests to plugin endpoints without proper referrer headers
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("email-on-publish" OR "admin-ajax.php") AND (POST OR "csrf")