CVE-2025-28925 in WATI Chat and Notification Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 03/12/2025
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Hieu Nguyen WATI Chat and Notification allows Stored XSS. This issue affects WATI Chat and Notification: from n/a through 1.1.2.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/12/2025
The CVE-2025-28925 vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in the Hieu Nguyen WATI Chat and Notification plugin, where a cross-site request forgery vulnerability enables stored cross-site scripting attacks. This vulnerability exists within the plugin's authentication and request handling mechanisms, creating a dangerous chain of exploitation that can lead to unauthorized administrative actions and persistent malicious code execution on victim systems. The flaw specifically impacts versions ranging from the initial release through 1.1.2, indicating a long-standing issue that has not been adequately addressed in the plugin's security architecture.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of user requests and insufficient anti-CSRF token mechanisms within the plugin's web application interface. When legitimate users interact with the plugin's administrative functions, the system fails to properly verify the authenticity of incoming requests, allowing attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to originate from authenticated users. This weakness directly maps to CWE-352, which defines Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities as a critical threat where attackers can trick users into performing unintended actions on web applications where they are authenticated. The vulnerability's classification as a stored XSS vector indicates that malicious payloads can be permanently injected into the application's database or storage mechanisms, making the attack persistent and potentially affecting multiple users over time.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple data theft or session hijacking. Attackers can leverage this flaw to gain administrative privileges within the WATI Chat and Notification system, potentially leading to complete compromise of the affected web application. Once an attacker successfully exploits the CSRF vulnerability, they can inject malicious JavaScript code that executes in the context of other users' browsers, enabling them to steal session cookies, modify plugin configurations, or even redirect users to malicious websites. This persistent threat model aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which describes credential harvesting through phishing attacks, where the stored XSS component allows attackers to maintain access to compromised systems over extended periods.
Organizations using affected versions of the WATI Chat and Notification plugin face significant security risks including unauthorized access to sensitive chat communications, potential data exfiltration, and the possibility of establishing persistent backdoors within their web applications. The vulnerability creates an attack surface that can be exploited by threat actors without requiring advanced technical skills, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with less sophisticated security teams. The stored nature of the XSS payload means that even users who might not immediately interact with malicious content could be compromised when they visit pages containing the injected code. Security practitioners should consider implementing network-level protections and monitoring for suspicious request patterns, though the most effective mitigation involves immediate patching to address the underlying CSRF implementation flaws that enable this vulnerability chain.