CVE-2025-46504 in Vasaio QR Code Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 04/24/2025
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Olar Marius Vasaio QR Code allows Stored XSS. This issue affects Vasaio QR Code: from n/a through 1.2.5.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/24/2025
The CVE-2025-46504 vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in the Olar Marius Vasaio QR Code plugin that demonstrates the dangerous intersection of cross-site request forgery and stored cross-site scripting vulnerabilities. This vulnerability exists within a widely used WordPress plugin that generates QR codes, creating a significant attack surface for malicious actors who can exploit the flaw to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems. The vulnerability affects all versions of the plugin from the initial release through version 1.2.5, indicating a prolonged period during which the flaw remained unaddressed. The specific nature of this vulnerability lies in how the plugin handles user input and processes requests, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate the application's behavior through carefully crafted malicious requests.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation and sanitization of user-supplied data within the plugin's request handling mechanisms. When users interact with the QR code generation functionality, the plugin fails to properly implement anti-CSRF tokens or other protective measures that would prevent unauthorized requests from being executed on behalf of authenticated users. This weakness allows attackers to craft malicious requests that can be executed by legitimate users who visit compromised pages or click on malicious links. The stored XSS component emerges when the plugin fails to properly sanitize user input before storing it in the database, enabling attackers to inject malicious scripts that persist and execute whenever the affected content is rendered. This combination creates a particularly dangerous scenario where attackers can establish persistent backdoors or execute malicious code without requiring continuous user interaction.
The operational impact of CVE-2025-46504 extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as the stored XSS vulnerability provides attackers with the capability to perform extensive malicious activities within the compromised WordPress environment. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to steal administrator credentials, modify website content, inject malicious advertisements, or establish persistent access through the creation of backdoor accounts. The vulnerability also enables more sophisticated attacks such as session hijacking, privilege escalation, and data exfiltration that can compromise entire WordPress installations. The persistence of the stored XSS means that even if users clear their browser cache or change their passwords, the malicious scripts will continue to execute whenever the vulnerable content is accessed, making the attack particularly difficult to detect and remediate. Organizations using this plugin face potential reputational damage, regulatory compliance issues, and significant financial losses due to the compromised security posture.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2025-46504 require immediate action to address both the CSRF and stored XSS components of the vulnerability. The most effective immediate response involves upgrading to the latest version of the Vasaio QR Code plugin where the vulnerability has been patched, as this resolves the underlying implementation flaws that enable the attack vectors. Organizations should also implement additional security measures including the enforcement of proper CSRF tokens throughout the application, comprehensive input validation and sanitization, and regular security audits of third-party plugins. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide additional protection against XSS attacks by restricting the sources from which scripts can be executed. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of requests or unexpected modifications to stored content that might indicate exploitation attempts. According to CWE guidelines, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352 for CSRF and CWE-79 for XSS, while ATT&CK framework categorizes the associated techniques under T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1566 for credential harvesting through social engineering. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security scanning to identify similar vulnerabilities across their entire application portfolio.