CVE-2025-11361 is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability identified in the WordPress plugin Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns, affecting all versions up to and including 5.7.1. The vulnerability resides in the eb_save_ai_generated_image function, which allows authenticated users with Author-level access or higher to trigger the plugin to make arbitrary HTTP requests from the server hosting the WordPress site. SSRF vulnerabilities enable attackers to abuse the server as a proxy to interact with internal or external systems that may be otherwise inaccessible, potentially leading to unauthorized information disclosure or manipulation of internal services. The vulnerability requires authentication at the Author level, which is a moderately privileged role in WordPress, but does not require additional user interaction once authenticated. The CVSS 3.1 score of 6.4 reflects medium severity, with a vector indicating network attack vector, low attack complexity, privileges required, no user interaction, and a scope change due to potential impact on resources beyond the vulnerable component. Although no public exploits are currently known, the vulnerability could be leveraged for internal network reconnaissance, accessing metadata services, or exploiting other internal vulnerabilities. The plugin is widely used in WordPress environments, which are prevalent across many European organizations, especially in sectors relying on content management systems. The lack of an official patch at the time of disclosure necessitates immediate mitigation steps to reduce exposure. The vulnerability highlights the risk posed by SSRF in web applications that accept user input to generate server-side requests without adequate validation or filtering.

For European organizations, this SSRF vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality and integrity of internal network resources. Attackers with Author-level access could leverage the vulnerability to perform internal reconnaissance, access sensitive internal APIs, cloud metadata services, or other protected resources not intended for public access. This could lead to unauthorized data disclosure, manipulation of internal services, or pivoting to further attacks within the network. Given the widespread use of WordPress and the Gutenberg Essential Blocks plugin among European businesses, government agencies, and media organizations, the potential impact includes exposure of sensitive information, disruption of internal workflows, and reputational damage. The medium severity rating indicates that while the vulnerability is not trivially exploitable by unauthenticated attackers, the required privileges are commonly assigned to content creators and editors, increasing the attack surface. Organizations with complex internal networks or cloud environments are particularly at risk, as SSRF can be used to access cloud metadata endpoints or internal management interfaces. Failure to address this vulnerability could result in targeted attacks exploiting this vector to gain deeper access or exfiltrate data.

To mitigate this vulnerability effectively, European organizations should: 1) Immediately restrict Author-level and higher privileges to trusted users only, minimizing the number of accounts that can exploit the SSRF. 2) Implement strict egress network filtering on web servers hosting WordPress to block unauthorized outbound HTTP requests, especially to internal IP ranges and sensitive endpoints such as cloud metadata services (e.g., 169.254.169.254). 3) Monitor web server logs and application logs for unusual outbound requests or patterns indicative of SSRF exploitation attempts. 4) Disable or remove the Gutenberg Essential Blocks plugin if it is not essential to reduce the attack surface until a patch is available. 5) Apply the official security patch from the vendor as soon as it is released. 6) Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules designed to detect and block SSRF attempts targeting the vulnerable function. 7) Conduct regular audits of user roles and permissions within WordPress to ensure least privilege principles are enforced. 8) Educate content authors and administrators about the risks associated with plugin vulnerabilities and the importance of cautious privilege assignment. These measures combined will reduce the likelihood and impact of exploitation while awaiting or applying vendor patches.