CVE-2025-23715 in Post & Page Notes Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/16/2025
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in RaymondDesign Post & Page Notes allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Post & Page Notes: from n/a through 0.1.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/10/2025
The CVE-2025-23715 vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in the RaymondDesign Post & Page Notes plugin, where a cross-site request forgery vulnerability directly enables stored cross-site scripting attacks. This vulnerability exists within the plugin's handling of user input and request processing mechanisms, creating a dangerous chain of exploitation that can lead to persistent malicious code execution on affected websites. The issue specifically impacts versions ranging from n/a through 0.1.1, indicating that all versions within this range are potentially compromised and require immediate attention from administrators.
The technical flaw manifests through the plugin's insufficient validation and sanitization of user-provided data within its csrf protection mechanisms. When users interact with the plugin's administrative features, particularly those involving note creation or modification, the system fails to properly implement anti-csrf tokens or other protective measures. This allows an attacker to craft malicious requests that can be executed by authenticated users, enabling the storage of malicious scripts within the plugin's note system. The vulnerability operates at the intersection of csrf and xss attack vectors, where the csrf flaw serves as the initial exploitation method to bypass security controls that would normally prevent xss execution.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a severe risk to website integrity and user security. An attacker who successfully exploits this flaw can inject persistent malicious scripts that will execute whenever any user accesses the affected pages or notes. These stored scripts can perform various malicious activities including credential theft, session hijacking, redirection to malicious sites, or data exfiltration from authenticated users. The impact extends beyond individual user sessions to potentially compromise entire website administrations, as the stored xss can be leveraged to gain elevated privileges or access sensitive administrative functions within the plugin or broader wordpress installation.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery, and CWE-79, which covers cross-site scripting. This dual classification demonstrates the compound nature of the security weakness, where the csrf implementation fails to properly validate user requests, allowing malicious input to be stored and subsequently executed. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566.001 (Phishing via Social Media) and T1584.002 (Compromise of Third-Party Applications), as attackers can leverage the plugin's weakness to establish persistent access through social engineering or direct exploitation. The vulnerability also relates to T1071.001 (Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols) and T1213.002 (Data from Information Repositories: Web Applications) as it targets web application protocols and data storage mechanisms.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including updating to the latest version of the Post & Page Notes plugin where the vulnerability has been addressed, implementing additional csrf protection measures, and monitoring for suspicious activity or unauthorized note modifications. Administrators should also consider implementing web application firewalls, input validation rules, and regular security audits to detect and prevent similar vulnerabilities. The recommended approach includes disabling the plugin until a patched version is available, implementing strict access controls for note-related functions, and conducting thorough security assessments of all third-party plugins to identify similar weaknesses. Additionally, organizations should establish incident response procedures to quickly address any exploitation attempts and ensure proper user education regarding potential phishing attempts that may leverage this vulnerability.