CVE-2025-57902
📋 TL;DR
This CSRF vulnerability in the RIS Version Switcher WordPress plugin allows attackers to trick authenticated administrators into performing unintended actions, such as downgrading or upgrading WordPress versions without their consent. It affects all WordPress sites using RIS Version Switcher plugin versions up to 1.0. Attackers can exploit this by luring administrators to malicious web pages.
💻 Affected Systems
- RIS Version Switcher – Downgrade or Upgrade WP Versions Easily
⚠️ 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 downgrade WordPress to a vulnerable version, install malicious plugins/themes, or change critical site settings, potentially leading to complete site compromise.
Likely Case
Attackers would typically use this to downgrade WordPress to exploit known vulnerabilities in older versions, then escalate to full site takeover.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF protections and admin awareness, exploitation attempts would fail, leaving no impact.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick authenticated administrators. No authentication bypass is needed.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version after 1.0 (check vendor for specific fixed version)
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'RIS Version Switcher'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available, or disable/remove if no update. 5. Verify plugin is updated to latest version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable RIS Version Switcher Plugin
WordPressTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched version is available.
wp plugin deactivate ris-version-switcher
Implement CSRF Protection Headers
ApacheAdd security headers to WordPress to help prevent CSRF attacks.
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
- Disable the RIS Version Switcher plugin immediately
- Implement strict access controls and monitor administrator sessions for suspicious activity
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for RIS Version Switcher. If version is 1.0 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=ris-version-switcher --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After update, verify plugin version is higher than 1.0 in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual WordPress version change logs in wp-admin activity
- Multiple failed update/downgrade attempts from same IP
- Administrator actions from unexpected user agents or IPs
Network Indicators:
- POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with version switching parameters from external referrers
- Unusual traffic patterns to plugin-specific endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("action=switch_version" OR "plugin=ris-version-switcher") AND status=200