CVE-2025-49354 identifies a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the WordPress plugin 'Recent Posts From Each Category' developed by Mindstien Technologies. This vulnerability allows attackers to trick authenticated users into submitting forged requests without their consent, which leads to stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. The plugin versions up to 1.4 are affected, though the exact version range is unspecified. The vulnerability is characterized by the absence of proper CSRF protections, such as missing or inadequate anti-CSRF tokens in state-changing requests. When exploited, an attacker can inject malicious scripts that persist on the website, potentially compromising user sessions, stealing cookies, or performing actions on behalf of users. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.1, indicating high severity, with an attack vector of network (remote), low attack complexity, no privileges required, but user interaction is necessary. The scope is changed, meaning the vulnerability affects components beyond the initially vulnerable module, impacting confidentiality, integrity, and availability to a limited extent. No patches or known exploits are currently available, but the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and should be addressed promptly to prevent exploitation.

For European organizations, particularly those operating public-facing WordPress websites using the 'Recent Posts From Each Category' plugin, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. Exploitation can lead to stored XSS, which may allow attackers to hijack user sessions, deface websites, or distribute malware to visitors. This can damage organizational reputation, lead to data breaches involving personal or sensitive information, and disrupt website availability. Given the plugin’s role in content display, attackers could manipulate site content or inject malicious payloads affecting a broad user base. Organizations in sectors such as e-commerce, government, media, and education are especially vulnerable due to their reliance on web presence and potential regulatory consequences under GDPR for data breaches. The need for user interaction reduces the risk somewhat but does not eliminate it, as social engineering techniques can facilitate exploitation.

Organizations should monitor Mindstien Technologies’ official channels for patches addressing CVE-2025-49354 and apply updates immediately upon release. In the interim, administrators can implement manual mitigations such as adding CSRF tokens to all state-changing requests within the plugin code or disabling the plugin if feasible. Employing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) configured to detect and block CSRF and XSS attack patterns can provide additional protection. Regular security audits and penetration testing focused on web application vulnerabilities should be conducted. User education to recognize phishing and social engineering attempts can reduce the risk of user interaction-based exploitation. Additionally, enforcing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers can mitigate the impact of stored XSS by restricting script execution. Backup and incident response plans should be updated to quickly recover from potential compromises.