CVE-2025-27003 Overview
CVE-2025-27003 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability [CWE-352] affecting the Fullworks Quick Paypal Payments plugin for WordPress. The flaw impacts all versions up to and including 5.7.46. An attacker can trick an authenticated user into submitting a forged request to a vulnerable endpoint, resulting in unauthorized state changes within the plugin. Exploitation requires user interaction, such as clicking a crafted link or visiting an attacker-controlled page while authenticated to the target WordPress site. The vulnerability was published to the National Vulnerability Database on September 5, 2025.
Critical Impact
An attacker can perform unauthorized plugin actions on behalf of an authenticated WordPress user by exploiting missing CSRF protections in the Quick Paypal Payments plugin.
Affected Products
- Fullworks Quick Paypal Payments WordPress plugin
- Versions from n/a through 5.7.46
- WordPress sites with the plugin installed and activated
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-09-05 - CVE-2025-27003 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-27003
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability stems from missing or improperly implemented CSRF protections in the Quick Paypal Payments plugin. WordPress provides nonce tokens through functions such as wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer() to validate the authenticity of state-changing requests. The affected plugin fails to consistently apply these controls on sensitive endpoints. This omission allows a remote attacker to craft a malicious page or link that triggers plugin actions when visited by an authenticated user.
The attack requires user interaction, reflected in the CVSS UI:R component. The scope is limited to integrity impact, with no direct confidentiality or availability consequences. However, unauthorized changes to payment plugin configuration could enable follow-on attacks against site owners or their customers.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of anti-CSRF token validation on one or more request handlers within the plugin. WordPress plugins that modify state must verify a nonce tied to the requesting user's session. Without this verification, the server cannot distinguish between a legitimate action initiated by the user and a forged request triggered by an external site. This class of flaw maps directly to CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery.
Attack Vector
An attacker hosts a malicious page containing an auto-submitting form or embedded request targeting the vulnerable plugin endpoint. The attacker lures an authenticated WordPress user, typically an administrator, to visit the page. The victim's browser automatically includes session cookies with the forged request. The vulnerable endpoint accepts the request as legitimate because no nonce validation is performed. Consult the Patchstack advisory for endpoint-specific technical details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-27003
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected changes to Quick Paypal Payments plugin settings without corresponding administrator activity in audit logs
- HTTP POST requests to plugin endpoints with Referer headers pointing to external, untrusted domains
- Administrator sessions showing plugin configuration changes shortly after visiting external links
Detection Strategies
- Review WordPress access logs for requests to Quick Paypal Payments admin endpoints originating from off-site referrers
- Enable WordPress audit logging plugins to record all plugin configuration changes with user attribution
- Correlate browser history or proxy logs with plugin configuration change timestamps to identify forged requests
Monitoring Recommendations
- Monitor for administrator account activity outside normal working hours or from unfamiliar IP addresses
- Alert on any modification to payment-related plugin settings and require out-of-band verification
- Track the installed version of Quick Paypal Payments across all managed WordPress sites and flag versions at or below 5.7.46
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-27003
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the Quick Paypal Payments plugin to a version later than 5.7.46 once the vendor releases a patched release
- Restrict WordPress administrator access to trusted networks and enforce multi-factor authentication
- Instruct administrators to log out of WordPress sessions when not actively managing the site to reduce CSRF exposure
Patch Information
At the time of publication, the NVD entry references the Patchstack advisory as the authoritative source for vendor remediation status. Administrators should monitor the plugin's official WordPress.org page and apply updates as soon as a fixed version is available.
Workarounds
- Deactivate and remove the Quick Paypal Payments plugin until a patched version is confirmed
- Deploy a web application firewall rule that inspects and validates Referer and Origin headers on plugin admin requests
- Use browser session isolation, ensuring administrators do not browse untrusted sites while authenticated to WordPress
- Apply the principle of least privilege by limiting the number of accounts with administrator or shop-manager roles
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
