CVE-2025-23996 Overview
CVE-2025-23996 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability [CWE-352] affecting the AnyRoad anyguide WordPress plugin. The flaw impacts all versions up to and including 1.3.2. An attacker can craft a malicious web page that triggers authenticated actions when a logged-in WordPress user visits it. Exploitation requires user interaction but no privileges on the target site. The vulnerability was published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) on January 21, 2025.
Critical Impact
Successful exploitation allows attackers to force authenticated WordPress users to perform unintended state-changing actions on the AnyRoad plugin, potentially modifying plugin configuration or data.
Affected Products
- AnyRoad anyguide WordPress Plugin — all versions through 1.3.2
- WordPress sites with the AnyRoad plugin installed and active
- Environments where administrators or privileged users browse untrusted content while authenticated
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-01-21 - CVE-2025-23996 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-23996
Vulnerability Analysis
The AnyRoad anyguide plugin fails to validate the origin of state-changing HTTP requests. WordPress plugins are expected to use nonce tokens generated via wp_create_nonce() and validated with check_admin_referer() or wp_verify_nonce(). The plugin either omits these checks or implements them incorrectly on one or more endpoints.
An attacker hosts a malicious page containing a forged request targeting the vulnerable endpoint. When an authenticated WordPress user visits the page, the browser automatically attaches session cookies. The plugin processes the request as legitimate because it cannot distinguish forged submissions from user-initiated actions.
The CVSS vector indicates a network-based attack requiring user interaction, with a limited integrity impact and no direct confidentiality or availability consequences. See the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Advisory for advisory details.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or improper CSRF token validation on plugin request handlers [CWE-352]. Without a per-request unpredictable token tied to the user session, the plugin cannot verify that a request originated from its own interface.
Attack Vector
An attacker delivers a crafted link or embeds a hidden form in a page under their control. The victim, authenticated to the WordPress site running AnyRoad anyguide ≤ 1.3.2, visits the page. The victim's browser submits the forged request with valid session cookies, and the plugin executes the action under the victim's identity.
No authenticated code examples are published for this CVE. Refer to the vendor advisory for reproduction details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-23996
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected changes to AnyRoad plugin settings or content that were not initiated by an administrator
- HTTP POST requests to plugin endpoints containing Referer or Origin headers pointing to external, untrusted domains
- WordPress audit log entries showing privileged actions correlated with the user visiting external pages
- Absence of a valid _wpnonce parameter in plugin request logs
Detection Strategies
- Inspect web server access logs for requests to anyguide plugin endpoints originating from cross-origin referers
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to flag state-changing requests to /wp-admin/admin-post.php or /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with missing or invalid nonce parameters
- Monitor for browser session activity patterns where administrative actions immediately follow navigation to external domains
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable WordPress activity logging for plugin configuration changes and administrator actions
- Alert on modifications to the AnyRoad plugin database options outside of normal maintenance windows
- Correlate authentication session data with outbound browsing telemetry to identify potential CSRF delivery vectors
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-23996
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the AnyRoad anyguide plugin to a version later than 1.3.2 once the vendor publishes a fixed release
- Audit WordPress administrator accounts and review recent plugin configuration changes for unauthorized modifications
- Restrict administrative access to the WordPress dashboard using IP allowlisting where feasible
Patch Information
At the time of NVD publication, versions through 1.3.2 are confirmed affected. Consult the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Advisory for the latest patched version information and vendor guidance.
Workarounds
- Deactivate the AnyRoad anyguide plugin until a patched version is available if the functionality is not business-critical
- Instruct administrators to log out of WordPress before browsing untrusted sites and to use a dedicated browser profile for administrative tasks
- Deploy a WAF rule that blocks requests to plugin endpoints lacking a valid _wpnonce token or containing suspicious cross-origin Referer headers
- Enforce SameSite cookie attributes on WordPress session cookies to reduce CSRF exposure at the browser layer
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
