CVE-2023-7197 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting the Marketing Twitter Bot WordPress plugin up to version 1.11. The core issue is the absence of Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) protections in certain parts of the plugin, combined with insufficient input sanitization and escaping. This security flaw allows an attacker to exploit the plugin by tricking an authenticated administrator into executing unauthorized actions via a CSRF attack. Specifically, the attacker can cause the admin to add stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) payloads within the plugin's functionality. Stored XSS occurs when malicious scripts are injected into a web application and persist in the backend, affecting all users who view the compromised content. The vulnerability leverages CWE-352 (CSRF) and CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, i.e., XSS). The CVSS v3.1 score is 7.1, indicating a high severity level, with an attack vector of network (remote exploitation), low attack complexity, no privileges required, but requiring user interaction (the admin must be tricked into performing an action). The scope is changed, meaning the vulnerability can affect resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. The impact affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability at a low level, but the combination of CSRF and stored XSS can lead to more severe consequences such as session hijacking, privilege escalation, or persistent defacement. No patches or known exploits in the wild are currently reported. The vulnerability was published in May 2025 and assigned by WPScan with enrichment from CISA. The affected product is a WordPress plugin used to automate marketing activities on Twitter, but the vendor is unknown, which complicates mitigation efforts.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk especially to those using WordPress sites with the Marketing Twitter Bot plugin installed. The exploitation requires an authenticated administrator to be tricked into performing an action, which means internal users or administrators could be targeted via phishing or social engineering. Successful exploitation could lead to persistent XSS attacks that compromise site visitors and administrators, potentially leading to credential theft, session hijacking, or unauthorized administrative actions. This could result in data breaches, reputational damage, and disruption of marketing operations. Given the plugin’s marketing focus, organizations relying on social media automation could face operational interruptions and loss of trust. Additionally, GDPR implications arise if personal data is compromised through these attacks, leading to regulatory penalties. The lack of vendor information and patches increases the risk exposure for European entities, as timely remediation may be delayed or unavailable. The vulnerability’s network attack vector and low complexity mean attackers can exploit it remotely, increasing the threat surface.

1. Immediate mitigation should include disabling or uninstalling the Marketing Twitter Bot plugin until a patch or vendor guidance is available. 2. Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to reduce the impact of stored XSS by restricting script execution sources. 3. Educate administrators and users about phishing and social engineering risks to prevent inadvertent CSRF exploitation. 4. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the plugin’s endpoints. 5. Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability scans focusing on WordPress plugins, especially those with unknown or untrusted vendors. 6. Monitor logs for unusual administrative actions or unexpected changes in plugin data that could indicate exploitation attempts. 7. Harden WordPress installations by enforcing least privilege principles for admin accounts and enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of compromised credentials. 8. If possible, review and sanitize all inputs and outputs related to the plugin manually or via custom code to mitigate injection risks until official fixes are released.