CVE-2025-48304 is a high-severity vulnerability classified as CWE-352, a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) issue, found in the Gary Illyes Google XML News Sitemap plugin. This plugin is used to generate XML sitemaps specifically tailored for Google News indexing. The vulnerability affects versions up to 0.02, with no specific lower bound version identified. The core of the vulnerability lies in the plugin's failure to properly validate requests, allowing an attacker to craft malicious requests that a logged-in administrator or user with sufficient privileges might unknowingly execute. This CSRF flaw can be exploited remotely without authentication (AV:N/PR:N), requiring only user interaction (UI:R), and leads to a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) condition. The stored XSS can allow an attacker to inject malicious scripts into the sitemap or plugin interface, which would then execute in the context of the victim's browser when they access affected pages. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.1, indicating high severity, with impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:L/I:L/A:L). The scope is changed (S:C), meaning the vulnerability affects resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. No known exploits have been reported in the wild yet, and no patches or fixes have been published as of the vulnerability disclosure date (August 28, 2025).

For European organizations, especially those relying on WordPress or similar CMS platforms with the Gary Illyes Google XML News Sitemap plugin installed, this vulnerability poses significant risks. The stored XSS resulting from CSRF can lead to session hijacking, defacement, or redirection to malicious sites, potentially compromising user data and damaging organizational reputation. Since the plugin is related to Google News sitemap generation, websites that depend on news dissemination or media presence could see their content integrity compromised, affecting SEO rankings and trustworthiness. The vulnerability's ability to be exploited without authentication but requiring user interaction means that targeted phishing or social engineering campaigns could be effective. This is particularly concerning for media outlets, news agencies, and corporate blogs in Europe that use this plugin to maintain their news presence. Additionally, the scope change indicates that the attack could impact other components or user sessions beyond the plugin itself, increasing the potential damage. Given the high connectivity and regulatory environment in Europe (e.g., GDPR), exploitation could lead to data breaches with legal and financial consequences.

Immediate mitigation steps include disabling or uninstalling the Gary Illyes Google XML News Sitemap plugin until a patch is released. Organizations should monitor official channels for updates or patches from the vendor. Implementing Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious CSRF attempts targeting the plugin's endpoints can reduce risk. Enforcing strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers can help mitigate the impact of stored XSS by restricting script execution contexts. Additionally, administrators should ensure that all users with access to the CMS have multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled to reduce the risk of session hijacking. Regular security audits and penetration testing focusing on plugin vulnerabilities should be conducted. Educating users about phishing and social engineering risks is also critical since user interaction is required for exploitation. Finally, reviewing and tightening user permissions within the CMS to limit administrative access can reduce the attack surface.