CVE-2025-7835 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability identified in the iThoughts Advanced Code Editor plugin for WordPress, developed by gerkin. This vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 1.2.10. The root cause is the absence or incorrect implementation of nonce validation on the AJAX action 'ithoughts_ace_update_options'. Nonces in WordPress are security tokens used to verify that requests intended to change state originate from legitimate users and not from malicious third parties. Due to this missing or faulty nonce validation, an unauthenticated attacker can craft a malicious request that, when executed by an authenticated site administrator (for example, by clicking a specially crafted link), can update the plugin's settings without the administrator's explicit consent. This type of vulnerability leverages the trust a web application places in the user's browser and session, allowing attackers to perform unauthorized actions by exploiting the administrator's authenticated session. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 4.3, reflecting a medium severity level. The vector indicates that the attack can be performed remotely (AV:N), requires low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges (PR:N), but does require user interaction (UI:R). The impact is limited to integrity (I:L) with no confidentiality or availability impact. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. This vulnerability is significant because it allows unauthorized modification of plugin settings, which could lead to further security misconfigurations or enable additional attack vectors if exploited in chained attacks.

For European organizations using WordPress sites with the iThoughts Advanced Code Editor plugin, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to the integrity of plugin configurations. An attacker exploiting this flaw could alter plugin settings, potentially weakening security controls or enabling malicious features. While the vulnerability does not directly compromise confidentiality or availability, unauthorized changes could facilitate subsequent attacks or disrupt site functionality. Organizations with administrators who frequently access their WordPress dashboards are at higher risk, especially if they can be tricked into clicking malicious links. Given the widespread use of WordPress across European businesses, including SMEs and large enterprises, the vulnerability could affect a broad range of sectors such as e-commerce, education, and government portals. However, the requirement for user interaction and the need to target administrators limits the attack surface somewhat. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the medium severity rating and potential for privilege escalation or configuration tampering warrant prompt attention.

1. Immediate mitigation should include disabling or uninstalling the iThoughts Advanced Code Editor plugin until a vendor patch is released. 2. Monitor official gerkin and WordPress plugin repositories for updates addressing this vulnerability and apply patches promptly. 3. Implement additional security controls such as Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) that can detect and block suspicious AJAX requests or CSRF attempts targeting the plugin's AJAX endpoints. 4. Educate WordPress administrators on the risks of clicking unknown or unsolicited links, especially when logged into administrative accounts. 5. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers and SameSite cookie attributes to reduce the risk of CSRF attacks. 6. Review and harden user roles and permissions to minimize the number of administrators with plugin configuration privileges. 7. Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability scans focusing on installed plugins and their configurations. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on plugin-specific controls and user behavior hardening.