CVE-2025-23922
📋 TL;DR
A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Harsh iSpring Embedder WordPress plugin allows attackers to trick authenticated administrators into uploading malicious files, potentially leading to web shell installation and server compromise. This affects all WordPress sites using iSpring Embedder version 1.0 or earlier. The vulnerability requires an administrator to be tricked into visiting a malicious page while logged in.
💻 Affected Systems
- Harsh iSpring Embedder 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 server takeover via web shell upload, allowing remote code execution, data theft, and lateral movement within the network.
Likely Case
Unauthorized file upload leading to web shell installation, website defacement, or malware distribution from the compromised server.
If Mitigated
Failed exploitation attempts logged, with no actual compromise due to proper CSRF protections or administrator awareness.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick an authenticated administrator into clicking a malicious link.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Not available
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Locate 'iSpring Embedder'. 4. Click 'Deactivate'. 5. Click 'Delete' to remove the plugin completely.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement CSRF Protection
allAdd CSRF tokens to all plugin forms and validate them on submission.
Requires custom PHP code modification of plugin files
Restrict File Uploads
linuxUse web application firewall or server configuration to block unauthorized file uploads.
Add to .htaccess: <FilesMatch "\.(php|phtml|php3|php4|php5|php7|phps|php8)">\n Order Deny,Allow\n Deny from all\n</FilesMatch>
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Immediately deactivate and remove the iSpring Embedder plugin from all WordPress installations.
- Implement strict access controls and monitoring for administrator accounts to detect suspicious activity.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for 'iSpring Embedder' version 1.0 or earlier.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name='iSpring Embedder' --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm the plugin is no longer listed in installed plugins or has been updated to a patched version.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized file uploads in WordPress uploads directory
- CSRF token validation failures in web server logs
- Administrator account performing unexpected plugin actions
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to plugin upload endpoints without proper referrer headers
- Unusual outbound connections from web server following uploads
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("iSpring Embedder" OR "upload" OR "csrf") AND status=200