CVE-2025-9949 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the Internal Links Manager plugin for WordPress, developed by webraketen. This vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 3.0.1. The root cause is the absence or incorrect implementation of nonce validation in the link deletion functionality within the process_bulk_action() function. Nonces are security tokens used to verify that a request originates from a legitimate user action within the application. Without proper nonce validation, an attacker can craft a malicious request that, when executed by an authenticated site administrator (for example, by clicking a link or visiting a malicious page), triggers the deletion of SEO links managed by the plugin. This attack does not require the attacker to be authenticated themselves, but it relies on social engineering to induce an administrator to perform the action. The vulnerability impacts the integrity of the website’s SEO link structure, potentially degrading search engine rankings and disrupting internal link management. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.3 (medium severity), reflecting that the attack vector is network-based, requires no privileges, but does require user interaction, and impacts integrity without affecting confidentiality or availability. There are no known exploits in the wild at the time of publication, and no official patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-352, which covers CSRF weaknesses where state-changing requests lack proper anti-CSRF tokens.

For European organizations using WordPress sites with the Internal Links Manager plugin, this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized deletion of internal SEO links, which can degrade website SEO performance and user navigation. This may result in reduced web traffic, impacting business visibility and revenue, especially for e-commerce, media, and service providers relying heavily on organic search. While the vulnerability does not directly compromise sensitive data or site availability, the integrity loss can indirectly affect business operations and reputation. Additionally, attackers could leverage this vulnerability as part of a broader social engineering campaign targeting site administrators. Since the attack requires user interaction, the risk is somewhat mitigated by user awareness but remains significant in environments with less stringent security training. The impact is more pronounced for organizations with complex internal linking strategies or those heavily dependent on SEO for customer acquisition.

1. Immediate mitigation involves disabling or uninstalling the Internal Links Manager plugin until a patched version is released. 2. If disabling is not feasible, restrict administrative access to trusted IP addresses and enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrator accounts to reduce the risk of successful social engineering. 3. Educate site administrators about the risks of clicking on unsolicited links or visiting untrusted websites while logged into the WordPress admin panel. 4. Monitor web server logs for unusual bulk deletion requests or unexpected POST requests to the plugin’s endpoints. 5. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious CSRF attempts targeting the plugin’s link deletion functionality. 6. Once available, promptly apply official patches or updates from the plugin vendor. 7. Consider adding additional nonce or token validation layers via custom code or security plugins to harden the affected functionality. 8. Regularly back up website data and configurations to enable quick restoration if unauthorized changes occur.