CVE-2024-25932 Overview
CVE-2024-25932 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Manish Kumar Agarwal Change Table Prefix WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all versions of change-table-prefix up to and including 2.0. The plugin fails to validate request origin or enforce anti-CSRF tokens on privileged actions that modify the WordPress database table prefix.
An attacker can craft a malicious page or link that, when visited by an authenticated WordPress administrator, triggers unauthorized changes to the site's database configuration. The weakness is classified as [CWE-352].
Critical Impact
Attacker-controlled requests can alter the WordPress database table prefix without administrator consent, resulting in site disruption and potential takeover when chained with social engineering.
Affected Products
- Manish Kumar Agarwal Change Table Prefix plugin for WordPress
- All versions from n/a through <= 2.0
- WordPress installations using youngtechleads:change_table_prefix
Discovery Timeline
- 2024-02-29 - CVE-2024-25932 published to NVD
- 2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-25932
Vulnerability Analysis
The Change Table Prefix plugin exposes administrative functionality that modifies the WordPress database table prefix, a configuration value that determines the naming scheme for every table in the WordPress schema. The plugin's handler does not verify a WordPress nonce or other anti-CSRF token before processing state-changing requests. As a result, any authenticated session in the victim's browser can be leveraged to perform privileged actions without explicit consent.
When an administrator is tricked into visiting an attacker-controlled page, the browser automatically attaches the WordPress session cookie to a forged request targeting the plugin endpoint. The plugin processes the request as legitimate and applies the prefix change. The user interaction requirement reflects the need for the administrator to load the malicious payload.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of CSRF protections on a state-changing administrative endpoint. WordPress provides wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer() primitives specifically to defend against this class of attack, but the plugin does not invoke them for the prefix-change workflow. This omission allows cross-origin requests to succeed whenever the victim holds an active administrator session.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires an attacker to deliver a crafted HTML page, image tag, or link to a logged-in WordPress administrator. The payload submits a forged POST or GET request to the plugin's vulnerable endpoint, carrying parameters that change the table prefix. Successful exploitation can break site functionality, expose the new prefix to the attacker, or be staged alongside other plugin abuses to facilitate persistence.
No public proof-of-concept or exploit code is referenced in the available advisories. See the Patchstack CSRF Vulnerability Analysis for additional technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-25932
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected modifications to the $table_prefix value in wp-config.php or to WordPress option records referencing the prefix.
- WordPress admin-area POST requests to Change Table Prefix plugin endpoints originating from external Referer headers.
- Sudden site errors or database connection failures following an administrator browsing session, indicating a prefix rename.
Detection Strategies
- Inspect web server access logs for requests targeting change-table-prefix plugin pages where the Referer header is missing or points to an untrusted origin.
- Audit WordPress administrative action logs for prefix-change events not tied to a known maintenance window.
- Correlate file-integrity monitoring alerts on wp-config.php with administrator browsing activity from the same time window.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that blocks plugin admin POST requests missing a valid WordPress nonce parameter.
- Monitor outbound and inbound traffic to WordPress admin sessions for cross-origin request patterns targeting plugin endpoints.
- Alert on database schema enumeration attempts that follow a prefix-change event, which can indicate post-exploitation reconnaissance.
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-25932
Immediate Actions Required
- Deactivate and remove the Change Table Prefix plugin until a vendor-supplied fix beyond version 2.0 is published.
- Verify the integrity of wp-config.php and confirm that the active $table_prefix matches the expected production value.
- Force administrator session invalidation and require re-authentication after the plugin is removed.
Patch Information
No fixed version is listed in the available advisories. Versions of change-table-prefix through 2.0 remain affected. Operators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the latest patch status before reinstating the plugin.
Workarounds
- Replace the plugin with a manual prefix-change procedure executed by a database administrator under change control.
- Restrict access to the WordPress admin interface using IP allowlists or VPN-only access while the plugin remains installed.
- Require administrators to use a dedicated browser profile or session for WordPress administration to limit CSRF exposure from general browsing.
# Configuration example: remove the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate change-table-prefix
wp plugin delete change-table-prefix
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
