CVE-2026-22382 identifies a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Mikado-Themes PawFriends - Pet Shop and Veterinary WordPress Theme, affecting versions up to and including 1.3. CSRF vulnerabilities enable attackers to induce authenticated users to execute unwanted actions on a web application where they are logged in, without their knowledge or consent. In this case, the vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user requests within the theme, allowing malicious actors to craft specially designed web requests that, when visited by an authenticated user, can trigger state-changing operations such as modifying settings or content. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.4 reflects a medium severity, with attack vector being network-based (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), but requiring user interaction (UI:R). The impact affects integrity and availability but not confidentiality, indicating that unauthorized changes or disruptions to the site’s functionality are possible, but sensitive data leakage is unlikely. No known exploits have been reported in the wild, and no patches were linked at the time of publication, suggesting that mitigation may require vendor updates or manual hardening. The vulnerability is particularly relevant for WordPress sites using this theme in pet shop or veterinary contexts, where site integrity and availability are critical for business operations and customer trust.

For European organizations, the impact of this CSRF vulnerability can be significant, especially for businesses relying on the PawFriends theme to manage online presence and customer interactions in the pet care and veterinary sectors. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized modifications of website content, configuration changes, or service disruptions, undermining trust and potentially causing financial losses. While the vulnerability does not expose confidential data directly, integrity and availability impacts can affect service reliability and user experience. Given the widespread use of WordPress across Europe and the niche focus of the theme, small to medium enterprises in veterinary and pet retail sectors are most at risk. Additionally, compromised sites could be leveraged as part of broader attacks, such as phishing or malware distribution, further amplifying the threat. The requirement for user interaction limits mass exploitation but targeted attacks against site administrators or content managers remain plausible. Organizations operating in regulated environments may face compliance risks if site integrity is compromised.

To mitigate CVE-2026-22382, European organizations should first monitor for official patches or updates from Mikado-Themes and apply them promptly once available. In the absence of an official patch, administrators should implement manual CSRF protections, such as adding nonce tokens to all state-changing requests within the theme’s codebase. Restricting administrative access to trusted IP addresses and enforcing multi-factor authentication can reduce the risk of successful exploitation. Regularly auditing user roles and permissions to minimize the number of users with administrative capabilities will also limit exposure. Employing web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules designed to detect and block CSRF attack patterns can provide an additional layer of defense. Educating site administrators about the risks of clicking on untrusted links while logged into the WordPress backend can reduce user interaction risks. Finally, maintaining regular backups and incident response plans ensures rapid recovery if exploitation occurs.