CVE-2025-49273 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability identified in the WordPress plugin WP Tools developed by Bill Minozzi. This vulnerability affects all versions of WP Tools up to and including version 5.24. CSRF vulnerabilities occur when an attacker tricks an authenticated user into submitting a malicious request to a web application in which they are currently authenticated, without their consent or knowledge. In this case, the vulnerability allows an attacker to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of the victim user by exploiting the lack of proper CSRF protections in WP Tools. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.3, indicating a medium severity level. The vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N) shows that the attack can be launched remotely over the network without privileges, requires low attack complexity, and requires user interaction (the victim must be tricked into clicking a malicious link or visiting a crafted webpage). The impact is limited to integrity, meaning the attacker can cause unauthorized changes or actions but cannot directly affect confidentiality or availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches or fixes have been linked yet. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352, which is a common web security weakness related to insufficient anti-CSRF protections. Since WP Tools is a WordPress plugin, the vulnerability primarily affects websites running WordPress that have this plugin installed and active. The lack of a patch at the time of publication means that affected sites remain vulnerable until the vendor releases an update addressing the issue.

For European organizations, the impact of this CSRF vulnerability depends largely on the presence and use of the WP Tools plugin within their WordPress environments. Organizations using WP Tools may face unauthorized actions performed on their websites if users with sufficient privileges are tricked into interacting with malicious content. This could lead to unauthorized changes in website settings, content manipulation, or other integrity violations that could damage the organization's reputation, disrupt business operations, or facilitate further attacks such as privilege escalation or data tampering. Although confidentiality and availability are not directly impacted, the integrity compromise can have cascading effects, especially for organizations relying on their websites for customer engagement, e-commerce, or information dissemination. Since the attack requires user interaction, social engineering or phishing campaigns targeting employees or administrators are likely vectors. European organizations with public-facing WordPress sites using WP Tools are at risk, particularly those in sectors with high online presence such as media, education, government, and small to medium enterprises. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers often develop exploits following public vulnerability disclosures.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should first identify all WordPress instances using the WP Tools plugin and verify the installed version. Until a patch is released, organizations should consider the following specific actions: 1) Disable or deactivate the WP Tools plugin temporarily if it is not critical to operations. 2) Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules that detect and block suspicious CSRF attempts targeting WP Tools endpoints. 3) Educate users and administrators about the risks of phishing and social engineering attacks that could trigger CSRF exploits, emphasizing cautious behavior when clicking links or opening emails. 4) Enforce strict user session management and consider limiting administrative access to trusted networks or VPNs to reduce exposure. 5) Monitor website logs for unusual or unauthorized actions that could indicate exploitation attempts. 6) Follow closely for vendor updates or patches and apply them promptly once available. 7) Consider deploying additional CSRF protection mechanisms at the application or server level, such as custom tokens or same-site cookie attributes, if feasible. These targeted mitigations go beyond generic advice by focusing on immediate risk reduction and detection tailored to the nature of this CSRF vulnerability in WP Tools.