CVE-2025-14164 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability identified in the Quran Gateway plugin for WordPress, specifically affecting all versions up to and including 1.5. The root cause is the absence of nonce validation in the quran_gateway_options function, which is responsible for handling plugin display settings. Nonces in WordPress are security tokens used to verify that requests originate from legitimate users and not from malicious third parties. Without this validation, an attacker can craft a malicious link or request that, when visited or triggered by an authenticated site administrator, causes unintended changes to the plugin’s configuration. This attack vector requires user interaction, meaning the administrator must be tricked into clicking a specially crafted URL or visiting a malicious webpage. The vulnerability does not allow direct access to sensitive data (no confidentiality impact) nor does it disrupt service availability. However, it compromises the integrity of the plugin’s settings, potentially leading to altered display behavior or other unintended consequences on the affected WordPress site. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.3, reflecting a medium severity level due to the ease of exploitation (no privileges required, network attack vector) but requiring user interaction and limited impact scope. No patches or fixes were listed at the time of publication, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild. The vulnerability was assigned by Wordfence and published on December 20, 2025.

For European organizations, the primary impact of this vulnerability lies in the potential unauthorized modification of website content or display settings managed by the Quran Gateway plugin. While it does not directly expose sensitive data or cause denial of service, altered plugin settings could undermine the integrity and trustworthiness of websites, especially those serving religious or cultural communities. This could lead to reputational damage or user distrust. Organizations with WordPress sites that use this plugin, particularly those with administrators who may be targeted by phishing or social engineering attacks, are at risk. The vulnerability’s requirement for administrator interaction means that organizations with strong user awareness and phishing defenses may reduce risk. However, failure to address this vulnerability could allow attackers to subtly manipulate site content or configurations, which might be leveraged in broader social engineering or misinformation campaigns. Given the widespread use of WordPress in Europe, and the presence of religious and cultural organizations using such plugins, the impact is moderate but non-negligible.

1. Monitor for official patches or updates from the edckwt Quran Gateway plugin developers and apply them promptly once available. 2. In the absence of patches, implement manual nonce validation in the quran_gateway_options function to ensure all requests modifying settings are verified. 3. Restrict administrative access to trusted personnel and enforce the principle of least privilege to minimize the number of users who can perform sensitive actions. 4. Educate site administrators about the risks of phishing and social engineering attacks, emphasizing caution when clicking on unsolicited links or visiting unknown websites. 5. Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules designed to detect and block suspicious CSRF attempts targeting WordPress plugins. 6. Regularly audit plugin configurations and logs for unauthorized changes to detect potential exploitation early. 7. Consider disabling or replacing the Quran Gateway plugin if it is not essential, reducing the attack surface. 8. Use security plugins that add additional CSRF protections or nonce enforcement for WordPress admin actions.