CVE-2025-53483 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability identified in the SecurePoll extension of the Wikimedia Foundation's Mediawiki software. This vulnerability affects versions 1.39.x prior to 1.39.13, 1.42.x prior to 1.42.7, and 1.43.x prior to 1.43.2. The issue arises because key scripts—ArchivePage.php, UnarchivePage.php, and the executeClear() method in VoterEligibilityPage—do not properly validate HTTP request methods or verify CSRF tokens. As a result, an attacker can craft malicious web pages that, when visited by an authenticated administrator of a Mediawiki instance using the vulnerable SecurePoll extension, can trigger sensitive administrative actions without the administrator’s consent or knowledge. These actions could include archiving or unarchiving pages or clearing voter eligibility data, potentially disrupting the integrity and availability of polling data managed through the extension. Since the vulnerability requires the victim to be an authenticated admin and involves social engineering to lure them to a malicious site, exploitation complexity is moderate. However, the lack of CSRF protections on critical administrative functions significantly increases the risk of unauthorized state changes within the affected Mediawiki installations. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no CVSS score has been assigned yet.

For European organizations that deploy Mediawiki with the SecurePoll extension—commonly used for collaborative knowledge management and decision-making processes—this vulnerability poses a risk to the integrity and availability of polling and voting data. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to manipulate poll results, archive or unarchive pages arbitrarily, or clear voter eligibility records, undermining trust in organizational decision-making processes. This could be particularly damaging for public sector entities, academic institutions, and NGOs that rely on Mediawiki for transparent governance or collaborative work. Additionally, if exploited, the vulnerability could lead to reputational damage, operational disruption, and potential data integrity issues. Given that the attack requires an administrator to visit a malicious site, the threat also highlights the importance of secure browsing practices among privileged users. The confidentiality impact is limited since the vulnerability does not directly expose sensitive data, but integrity and availability impacts are significant.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should immediately upgrade the SecurePoll extension to the fixed versions: 1.39.13 or later for the 1.39.x branch, 1.42.7 or later for the 1.42.x branch, and 1.43.2 or later for the 1.43.x branch. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, organizations should implement strict Content Security Policies (CSP) to restrict the domains from which scripts and forms can be loaded, reducing the risk of CSRF attacks. Additionally, administrators should be trained to avoid visiting untrusted websites while logged into Mediawiki admin accounts. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for admin accounts can also reduce the risk of account compromise. Network-level controls such as web application firewalls (WAFs) can be configured to detect and block suspicious requests that do not originate from legitimate user interactions. Finally, organizations should audit their Mediawiki logs for unusual administrative actions and monitor for any signs of exploitation attempts.