CVE-2025-27339 Overview
CVE-2025-27339 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Will Anderson Minimum Password Strength WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 1.2.0. An attacker can trick an authenticated user into submitting a forged request that performs privileged plugin actions without consent. The issue is tracked as CWE-352 and was published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) on February 24, 2025.
Critical Impact
An unauthenticated attacker can leverage user interaction to alter plugin state on WordPress sites running minimum-password-strength<= 1.2.0, weakening password policy enforcement.
Affected Products
- Will Anderson Minimum Password Strength plugin for WordPress
- All versions from initial release through 1.2.0
- WordPress sites with the vulnerable plugin installed and active
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-02-24 - CVE-2025-27339 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-27339
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability stems from missing CSRF protections on state-changing endpoints in the Minimum Password Strength plugin. WordPress plugins are expected to validate requests using nonces via functions such as wp_verify_nonce() or check_admin_referer(). When these checks are missing or improperly implemented, an attacker can construct a malicious page that submits authenticated requests through a victim's browser.
The attack requires user interaction, meaning the victim must visit an attacker-controlled page or click a crafted link while logged into WordPress. Because the browser automatically attaches session cookies to the outgoing request, the plugin processes the action as if the legitimate administrator initiated it. Successful exploitation impacts integrity by modifying plugin configuration but does not directly disclose data or crash the site.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of anti-CSRF token validation on privileged plugin request handlers. The plugin relies on session authentication alone and does not verify request origin using a per-session nonce. This maps to CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery.
Attack Vector
Exploitation is performed over the network. An attacker hosts a page containing an auto-submitting HTML form or a crafted image tag that targets the vulnerable plugin endpoint on the WordPress admin interface. When an administrator with an active session visits the page, the browser silently issues the request, and the plugin executes the action. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Advisory for advisory details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-27339
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected changes to Minimum Password Strength plugin configuration in wp_options records
- WordPress access logs showing POST requests to plugin admin endpoints with external Referer headers
- Administrator sessions performing configuration changes shortly after visiting untrusted external URLs
Detection Strategies
- Inspect web server logs for requests to wp-admin/admin.php or wp-admin/options.php targeting the plugin without a matching _wpnonce parameter
- Correlate WordPress audit logs with administrator browsing history to identify off-domain referrers preceding configuration changes
- Alert on plugin setting modifications occurring outside of documented change windows
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable a WordPress activity log plugin to record configuration changes with timestamps and initiating user
- Monitor for anomalous administrator behavior such as password policy weakening followed by new account creation
- Track outbound requests from browsers used by WordPress administrators to detect visits to untrusted domains
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-27339
Immediate Actions Required
- Deactivate the minimum-password-strength plugin if a patched release is not yet available for your environment
- Restrict WordPress administrator access to trusted networks using IP allowlists at the web server or WAF layer
- Require administrators to log out of WordPress before browsing untrusted sites in the same browser session
Patch Information
As of the last NVD update on June 17, 2026, no fixed version has been listed in the enriched data. Administrators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Advisory and the plugin's WordPress.org page for the latest patched release beyond 1.2.0.
Workarounds
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that blocks POST requests to plugin endpoints missing a valid _wpnonce parameter
- Enforce SameSite=Strict or SameSite=Lax on WordPress authentication cookies to limit cross-origin submission
- Replace the plugin with an actively maintained password policy alternative that implements CSRF nonce validation
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
