CVE-2025-30535 in External Image Replace Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 03/24/2025
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in muro External image replace allows Cross Site Request Forgery. This issue affects External image replace: from n/a through 1.0.8.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/24/2025
The CVE-2025-30535 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the muro External image replace plugin, specifically impacting versions ranging from n/a through 1.0.8. This vulnerability resides in the plugin's handling of external image replacement functionality, which is commonly used in content management systems and web applications to dynamically fetch and display images from remote sources. The flaw stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token implementation within the plugin's image replacement mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows malicious actors to craft specially crafted requests that can manipulate the plugin's behavior without user consent or awareness. When a legitimate user interacts with a web application utilizing this vulnerable plugin, an attacker can exploit the missing CSRF protection measures to perform unauthorized actions such as replacing images with malicious content, redirecting to harmful external sources, or manipulating image display settings. This occurs because the plugin fails to verify the authenticity of requests originating from the same domain or validate the presence of proper anti-CSRF tokens in the request parameters.
The operational impact of CVE-2025-30535 extends beyond simple image manipulation, as it provides attackers with a potential foothold for more sophisticated attacks within the affected web applications. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to serve malicious images that trigger additional security issues, such as cross-site scripting payloads or to redirect users to phishing sites through manipulated image sources. The vulnerability's presence in the external image replacement functionality means that any application relying on this plugin for dynamic image handling becomes susceptible to unauthorized modifications, potentially leading to data corruption, user deception, or further exploitation of the compromised system.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications. The flaw demonstrates a failure in implementing proper request validation mechanisms and lacks the essential anti-CSRF protections that should be present in any web application component handling user-initiated modifications. Additionally, this vulnerability may be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1566.002 for the use of malicious images in social engineering attacks, and potentially T1059.001 for command execution through manipulated image content. Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by updating to patched versions of the muro External image replace plugin and implementing additional monitoring for unauthorized image replacement activities. The vulnerability underscores the importance of proper input validation and the necessity of implementing robust anti-CSRF measures in all web application components that process user-submitted data or perform state-changing operations.