CVE-2025-0393 in Royal Elementor Addons and Templates
Summary
by MITRE • 01/14/2025
The Royal Elementor Addons and Templates plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in all versions up to, and including, 1.7.1006. This is due to missing or incorrect nonce validation on the wpr_filter_grid_posts() function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious web scripts via a forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/03/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-0393 affects the Royal Elementor Addons and Templates plugin for WordPress, representing a critical cross-site request forgery weakness that has persisted across all versions up to and including 1.7.1006. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-352 category, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery flaws in software systems. The vulnerability stems from inadequate nonce validation within the wpr_filter_grid_posts() function, which serves as a critical security mechanism for validating legitimate user requests and preventing unauthorized actions. The absence of proper nonce verification creates a significant attack surface that allows malicious actors to execute unauthorized operations on vulnerable WordPress sites.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires attackers to craft malicious requests that can be delivered to administrators through social engineering techniques such as phishing emails or compromised websites. The attack vector relies on the principle that administrators will unknowingly execute malicious actions when they click on forged links or visit malicious web pages. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the administrative level, potentially allowing attackers to modify plugin settings, inject malicious code, or perform other privileged actions that could compromise the entire WordPress installation. The lack of authentication checks for the affected function means that any user can potentially trigger the malicious functionality, making the attack surface extremely broad and difficult to defend against through traditional user access controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code injection, as it can enable attackers to establish persistent access to compromised sites through the injection of backdoors or other malicious scripts. This type of vulnerability directly aligns with the ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers social engineering methods used to gain initial access to systems. The vulnerability's exploitation can lead to complete site compromise, data exfiltration, and potential use as a stepping stone for further attacks within network environments. Additionally, the compromised plugin can serve as a persistent threat vector for ongoing attacks against site visitors, as malicious scripts can be injected into legitimate pages and executed in the browsers of unsuspecting users.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of the affected plugin to the latest version where the nonce validation has been properly implemented. Security professionals should also implement additional protective measures such as monitoring for unusual administrative actions and implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious requests to the vulnerable endpoint. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their WordPress installations to identify other potentially vulnerable plugins and themes that may suffer from similar nonce validation issues. The implementation of proper input validation and output encoding practices, as recommended by the OWASP Top Ten, should be enforced across all plugin development processes to prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in the future. Regular security audits and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to maintain awareness of potential threats and ensure that security measures remain effective against evolving attack techniques.