CVE-2025-53347 in Kalium Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/14/2025
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Laborator Kalium allows Cross Site Request Forgery. This issue affects Kalium: from n/a through 3.18.3.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/14/2025
The Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-53347 represents a critical security flaw within the Laborator Kalium WordPress theme that enables attackers to execute unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-352 category, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery conditions where web applications fail to validate the origin of requests. The affected version range spans from an unspecified beginning version through 3.18.3, indicating that multiple iterations of the Kalium theme contained this security weakness.
The technical implementation of this CSRF flaw stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms within the theme's administrative functions. When a logged-in administrator visits a malicious website or clicks on a crafted link, the attacker can leverage the user's authenticated session to perform actions such as modifying theme settings, updating configurations, or executing administrative commands without the user's knowledge or consent. This vulnerability exploits the trust relationship between the web application and the user's browser, allowing unauthorized modifications to be made to the WordPress installation through the Kalium theme interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data modification, as it can lead to complete compromise of the affected WordPress site. An attacker could potentially alter critical theme configurations, inject malicious code, or even escalate privileges within the WordPress administration panel. The vulnerability's presence in versions through 3.18.3 suggests that a significant portion of users may be exposed, particularly since many WordPress installations rely on third-party themes for their frontend functionality. This makes the exploitation surface quite broad and increases the potential attack vectors available to threat actors.
Security practitioners should immediately implement mitigations including the deployment of web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious cross-site requests, implementation of proper CSRF token validation mechanisms, and mandatory user session regeneration after authentication. Additionally, organizations should ensure that all WordPress installations are updated to the latest version of the Kalium theme where this vulnerability has been patched. The remediation process should also include comprehensive security audits of all installed themes and plugins to identify similar vulnerabilities. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1531 - Modify Persistence Mechanism and T1078 - Valid Accounts, as it allows attackers to maintain persistent access through unauthorized administrative actions. Regular security monitoring and user education about the dangers of visiting untrusted websites while logged into administrative panels remains crucial for preventing exploitation of this CSRF vulnerability.