CVE-2025-31393 in Social Bookmarking Reloaded Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 04/09/2025
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in vfvalent Social Bookmarking RELOADED allows Stored XSS. This issue affects Social Bookmarking RELOADED: from n/a through 3.18.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/09/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in the vfvalent Social Bookmarking RELOADED WordPress plugin that combines cross-site request forgery with stored cross-site scripting capabilities. The vulnerability exists within the plugin's handling of user input and request processing mechanisms, creating a dangerous attack vector that can persistently compromise user sessions and execute malicious code. The issue affects versions from an unspecified starting point through version 3.18, indicating a long-standing exposure window that could have allowed attackers to exploit this weakness for extended periods.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation and sanitization of user-provided data within the plugin's administrative interfaces and data processing functions. When users interact with the plugin's features, particularly those involving bookmark management or social sharing functionality, the application fails to properly implement anti-CSRF tokens or validate the origin of requests. This weakness allows attackers to craft malicious requests that appear legitimate to the server while simultaneously enabling the storage of malicious JavaScript payloads within the application's database. The stored XSS component occurs when these malicious inputs are later rendered in administrative interfaces or public-facing pages without proper output encoding or sanitization.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or session hijacking. Attackers can leverage this weakness to execute arbitrary code within the context of authenticated user sessions, potentially gaining full administrative control over affected WordPress installations. The stored nature of the XSS payload means that the malicious code persists even after the initial attack vector is closed, allowing for ongoing exploitation and making detection more challenging. This vulnerability particularly affects WordPress environments where the plugin is actively used, as it creates a persistent backdoor that can be exploited by unauthorized users without requiring repeated authentication attempts.
Security practitioners should immediately implement mitigations including applying the latest plugin updates if available, implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms, and deploying web application firewalls with rules specifically targeting CSRF and XSS attack patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352 for cross-site request forgery and CWE-79 for cross-site scripting, representing a classic combination of weaknesses that amplify the overall security risk. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts, while monitoring for suspicious administrative activities or unexpected data modifications that could indicate exploitation attempts. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation and persistence technique, where attackers can establish long-term access through the stored malicious payloads.