CVE-2025-39374
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the WordPress Best Posts Summary plugin that leads to Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). Attackers can trick authenticated administrators into executing malicious actions that inject persistent scripts into the website. This affects all WordPress sites using the Best Posts Summary plugin version 1.0 and earlier.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress Best Posts Summary 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
An attacker could inject malicious JavaScript that steals administrator credentials, redirects users to malicious sites, or takes full control of the WordPress site when an admin views the compromised page.
Likely Case
Attackers would typically inject scripts to steal session cookies or redirect users to phishing pages, potentially compromising administrator accounts and site integrity.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF protections and content security policies, the attack would fail or have limited impact even if attempted.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick an authenticated administrator, but the technical execution is straightforward once the victim is lured.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.0.1 or later
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Best Posts Summary' and check for updates. 4. If update is available, click 'Update Now'. 5. If no update appears, deactivate and delete the plugin, then find a secure alternative.
🔧 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: define('FORCE_SSL_ADMIN', true);
Disable Plugin
linuxTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate best-posts-summary
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove the Best Posts Summary plugin completely and use alternative functionality
- Restrict admin panel access to trusted IP addresses only using firewall rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for 'Best Posts Summary' version 1.0 or earlierCheck Version:
wp plugin get best-posts-summary --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 1.0.1 or later in WordPress admin panel, or confirm plugin is removed📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to WordPress admin-ajax.php or admin-post.php with plugin-specific parameters
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful admin login
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections to suspicious domains from your WordPress server
- Unusual traffic patterns to /wp-admin/ endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("best-posts-summary" OR "admin-ajax.php") AND status=200 AND method=POST