CVE-2025-49237
📋 TL;DR
This CSRF vulnerability in the POEditor WordPress plugin allows attackers to trick authenticated administrators into performing unintended actions, specifically arbitrary file deletion via path traversal. It affects all WordPress sites running POEditor plugin versions up to 0.9.10. Attackers can exploit this to delete critical files on the server.
💻 Affected Systems
- POEditor 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 website compromise through deletion of WordPress core files, configuration files, or database files, leading to site unavailability and potential data loss.
Likely Case
Partial website disruption through deletion of plugin files, themes, or uploaded content, causing functionality loss and requiring restoration from backups.
If Mitigated
No impact if proper CSRF protections are implemented and file deletion permissions are restricted.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick authenticated admin users. CSRF payloads are simple to create.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 0.9.11 or later
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find POEditor plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. Alternatively, download version 0.9.11+ from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily disable POEditor plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate poeditor
Add CSRF Protection Headers
allImplement additional CSRF protection at web server level
# Add to .htaccess for Apache:
Header set X-Frame-Options "DENY"
Header set Content-Security-Policy "frame-ancestors 'none'"
# Add to nginx config:
add_header X-Frame-Options "DENY" always;
add_header Content-Security-Policy "frame-ancestors 'none'" always;
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict admin panel access to trusted IP addresses only using firewall rules or .htaccess restrictions.
- Implement additional authentication factor for admin actions, especially file deletion operations.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for POEditor version. If version is 0.9.10 or earlier, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get poeditor --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify POEditor plugin version is 0.9.11 or later in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual file deletion events in WordPress or web server logs
- Multiple failed file deletion attempts from same IP
- Admin panel access followed immediately by file deletion operations
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to POEditor admin endpoints without proper referrer headers
- Suspicious iframe or form submissions targeting admin URLs
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND "poeditor" AND ("delete" OR "unlink") AND NOT user_agent="WordPress"