CVE-2025-31023
📋 TL;DR
A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Purab Seo Meta Tags WordPress plugin allows attackers to trick authenticated administrators into performing unintended actions. This affects all WordPress sites running Seo Meta Tags plugin versions up to 1.4. Successful exploitation could lead to privilege escalation.
💻 Affected Systems
- Purab Seo Meta Tags 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 escalate privileges to administrator level, take full control of the WordPress site, and potentially compromise the entire web server.
Likely Case
Attackers trick administrators into performing actions that modify site settings, create backdoor accounts, or inject malicious content.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF protections and user awareness, exploitation attempts would fail or be detected before causing damage.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick authenticated administrators into clicking malicious links.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.5 or later
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Seo Meta Tags' and click 'Update Now'. 4. Verify version is 1.5 or higher.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate seo-meta-tags
Add CSRF Protection Headers
linuxImplement additional CSRF protection at web server level
# Add to .htaccess: Header set X-Frame-Options DENY
# Add to .htaccess: Header set Content-Security-Policy frame-ancestors 'none'
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict administrator access to trusted networks only
- Implement strict SameSite cookie policies and require re-authentication for sensitive actions
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for 'Seo Meta Tags' versionCheck Version:
wp plugin get seo-meta-tags --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 1.5 or higher in WordPress admin📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual administrator actions from unexpected IPs
- Multiple failed CSRF token validations
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with suspicious parameters
- Requests containing 'action=seo_meta_tags' from non-admin users
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("seo_meta_tags" OR "admin-ajax.php") AND status=200 AND user_role="administrator"