CVE-2025-53308 is a high-severity vulnerability classified as CWE-352, indicating a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) weakness in the gopi_plus Image Slider With Description plugin, affecting versions up to 9.2. The vulnerability allows an attacker to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of an authenticated user by exploiting the lack of proper CSRF protections. Specifically, this CSRF flaw can be leveraged to inject stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) payloads into the application. Stored XSS occurs when malicious scripts are permanently stored on the target server, for example in a database, and executed in the context of other users’ browsers. The CVSS 3.1 score of 7.1 reflects a high impact with network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), but requiring user interaction (UI:R). The scope is changed (S:C), meaning the vulnerability affects resources beyond the vulnerable component. The impact includes low confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts individually, but combined they can lead to significant compromise. An attacker can trick authenticated users into submitting crafted requests that modify the slider content, embedding malicious scripts that execute when other users view the slider. This can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, or further exploitation within the affected web application environment. No patches or known exploits are currently reported, but the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and should be addressed promptly to prevent exploitation. The plugin is typically used in web content management systems to display image sliders with descriptions, often on websites requiring user interaction or administrative control, making the CSRF to stored XSS chain particularly dangerous in multi-user environments.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk especially to those relying on the gopi_plus Image Slider With Description plugin in their web infrastructure. The stored XSS resulting from CSRF can lead to unauthorized actions, data theft, and compromise of user accounts, potentially violating GDPR requirements related to data protection and user privacy. Organizations in sectors such as e-commerce, media, education, and government that use this plugin for public-facing or internal portals may face reputational damage, legal penalties, and operational disruption if exploited. The ability to execute scripts in users’ browsers can facilitate phishing, spread malware, or pivot attacks deeper into the network. Since no known exploits are reported yet, proactive mitigation is critical to prevent attackers from weaponizing this vulnerability. The impact is amplified in environments with multiple users or administrators, where CSRF attacks can silently alter content or settings without detection.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should: 1) Immediately audit their web applications to identify usage of the gopi_plus Image Slider With Description plugin, particularly versions up to 9.2. 2) Apply any available patches or updates from the vendor once released; if no patch is available, consider disabling or removing the plugin temporarily. 3) Implement robust anti-CSRF tokens on all state-changing requests related to the plugin to prevent unauthorized request forgery. 4) Conduct thorough input validation and output encoding to prevent stored XSS payloads from executing, including sanitizing user inputs that affect slider content. 5) Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution and reduce the impact of potential XSS attacks. 6) Monitor web application logs and user activity for unusual requests or content changes indicative of exploitation attempts. 7) Educate users and administrators about phishing and social engineering tactics that could be used to trigger CSRF attacks. 8) Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules to detect and block CSRF and XSS attack patterns targeting this plugin. These measures combined will reduce the attack surface and help prevent exploitation of this vulnerability.