CVE-2025-46245 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability identified in the CreativeMindsSolutions CM Ad Changer plugin, affecting versions up to 2.0.5. CSRF vulnerabilities allow an attacker to trick an authenticated user into submitting unwanted actions on a web application in which they are currently authenticated. In this case, the vulnerability exists because the CM Ad Changer plugin does not implement adequate anti-CSRF protections, such as CSRF tokens or same-site cookie attributes, to validate that requests modifying ad configurations originate from legitimate users. Exploiting this flaw, an attacker could craft malicious web pages or links that, when visited by an authenticated administrator or user with sufficient privileges, could cause unauthorized changes to ad settings, potentially altering ad content, redirecting users to malicious sites, or disrupting ad delivery. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability's presence in a widely used WordPress plugin for ad management poses a risk, especially for websites relying on this plugin for monetization or advertising control. The vulnerability does not require user interaction beyond visiting a malicious page while authenticated, and no authentication bypass is involved, but it leverages the victim's existing session and privileges. The lack of a patch or update at the time of reporting indicates that affected users should consider immediate mitigation steps to reduce risk.

For European organizations, the impact of this CSRF vulnerability can be significant, particularly for businesses and media companies that rely on the CM Ad Changer plugin to manage advertising content on their websites. Unauthorized modification of ads could lead to reputational damage, loss of advertising revenue, and potential exposure of visitors to malicious or inappropriate content. This could also indirectly affect data integrity and trustworthiness of the affected websites. In sectors such as e-commerce, publishing, and digital marketing, compromised ad content could be used to redirect users to phishing sites or malware distribution points, increasing the risk of broader security incidents. Additionally, regulatory compliance risks under GDPR may arise if user data is indirectly compromised or if the organization fails to maintain secure website operations. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate threat but does not eliminate the risk of targeted attacks, especially as attackers often exploit such vulnerabilities in automated campaigns once publicly disclosed.

Specific mitigation steps include: 1) Immediate review and restriction of administrative access to the CM Ad Changer plugin, ensuring only trusted users have permissions to modify ad settings. 2) Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious cross-site requests targeting the plugin's endpoints. 3) Encourage users to log out of administrative sessions when not actively managing the site to reduce the window of opportunity for CSRF attacks. 4) Monitor web server logs for unusual POST requests or changes to ad configurations that could indicate exploitation attempts. 5) If possible, disable or remove the CM Ad Changer plugin until a security patch is released. 6) For organizations with development resources, consider applying custom CSRF protections such as nonce tokens or same-site cookie attributes as a temporary workaround. 7) Educate administrators about the risks of CSRF and safe browsing practices to avoid visiting untrusted sites while logged into administrative accounts. 8) Stay alert for vendor updates or patches and apply them promptly once available.