CVE-2025-58848 is a high-severity Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability identified in the WordPress plugin 'WP likes' developed by aakash1911. This vulnerability affects versions up to 3.1.1 of the plugin. The issue allows an attacker to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of an authenticated user by exploiting the lack of proper CSRF protections. Specifically, the vulnerability enables reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks, which can be chained with CSRF to escalate the impact. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.1 reflects a 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), indicating that exploitation can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component. The impact affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability at a low level each (C:L/I:L/A:L). The vulnerability arises because the plugin does not properly validate the origin or authenticity of requests that trigger 'like' actions, allowing attackers to craft malicious web pages that, when visited by authenticated users, execute unintended actions. The reflected XSS component can be used to steal session tokens or perform further malicious activities. No patches or exploits in the wild are currently reported, but the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and should be addressed promptly.

For European organizations using WordPress websites with the 'WP likes' plugin, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. Attackers can trick authenticated users, including administrators or editors, into executing unwanted actions such as manipulating likes or potentially escalating privileges through chained attacks involving reflected XSS. This can lead to unauthorized content manipulation, session hijacking, or defacement, impacting the integrity and availability of web services. Confidential data exposure is possible if session tokens or cookies are stolen via XSS. Given the widespread use of WordPress across European businesses, including e-commerce, media, and governmental sites, exploitation could disrupt operations, damage reputation, and lead to regulatory compliance issues under GDPR if personal data is compromised. The requirement for user interaction (visiting a malicious site) slightly reduces the risk but does not eliminate it, especially in environments with high user traffic and potential phishing campaigns.

1. Immediate update or patching: Although no official patch links are provided, organizations should monitor the plugin vendor's site and trusted security advisories for updates addressing CVE-2025-58848. 2. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block CSRF and reflected XSS attack patterns targeting the WP likes plugin endpoints. 3. Enforce strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to mitigate the impact of reflected XSS by restricting script execution sources. 4. Educate users and administrators about phishing risks and the dangers of clicking untrusted links, reducing the likelihood of successful CSRF exploitation. 5. Review and harden WordPress security configurations, including disabling or restricting the WP likes plugin if not essential. 6. Employ security plugins that add CSRF tokens and nonce verification to forms and AJAX requests, ensuring that all state-changing requests are properly validated. 7. Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focusing on plugin vulnerabilities and user interaction flows.