CVE-2025-27340: F12-Profiler CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2025-27340 Overview

CVE-2025-27340 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the F12-Profiler WordPress plugin developed by Forge12 Interactive GmbH. The flaw exists in all plugin versions up to and including 1.3.9. An attacker can trick an authenticated user into submitting a forged request that performs unauthorized state-changing actions within the plugin. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery and requires user interaction to be exploited. Successful exploitation can result in limited integrity and availability impact on affected WordPress installations.

Critical Impact
Attackers can coerce authenticated WordPress users into executing unintended plugin actions through crafted links or malicious pages, resulting in unauthorized modifications.

Affected Products

Forge12 Interactive GmbH F12-Profiler plugin for WordPress
All versions from initial release through 1.3.9
WordPress sites with the F12-Profiler plugin installed and active

Discovery Timeline

2025-02-24 - CVE-2025-27340 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-27340

Vulnerability Analysis

The F12-Profiler plugin fails to implement adequate anti-CSRF protections on state-changing endpoints. WordPress provides a nonce mechanism through functions like wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer() to prevent forged requests, but the affected plugin versions do not validate these tokens on sensitive actions. An attacker who lures an authenticated site administrator or privileged user to a malicious webpage can trigger requests that execute in the victim's session context. Because the browser automatically attaches WordPress authentication cookies, the forged request appears legitimate to the server.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or improperly validated CSRF tokens on plugin actions that modify server-side state. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which describes weaknesses where the web application does not sufficiently verify that a request was intentionally submitted by the authenticated user.

Attack Vector

Exploitation follows a standard CSRF pattern. The attacker crafts an HTML page containing a hidden form or JavaScript that issues a request to a vulnerable F12-Profiler endpoint. The attacker then delivers the page to a logged-in WordPress user through phishing, malicious advertising, or a compromised third-party site. When the victim loads the page, the browser sends the forged request along with authenticated session cookies. The plugin processes the request as if the user had submitted it directly. The attack requires user interaction and does not require attacker authentication to the target site. Refer to the Patchstack advisory for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-27340

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected changes to F12-Profiler plugin settings or configuration data without corresponding admin activity in audit logs
HTTP POST requests to plugin endpoints with Referer headers pointing to external or unknown domains
Administrator sessions showing plugin actions performed immediately after visiting external URLs

Detection Strategies

Inspect web server access logs for requests to F12-Profiler endpoints that lack expected nonce parameters
Correlate authenticated WordPress admin sessions with off-site Referer values on state-changing requests
Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) rule that flags cross-origin POST requests targeting /wp-admin/ endpoints associated with the plugin

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress audit logging to track plugin configuration changes and user actions with timestamps
Monitor outbound clicks and phishing indicators targeting site administrators
Alert on plugin setting modifications occurring outside normal administrative maintenance windows

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-27340

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress installations running F12-Profiler version 1.3.9 or earlier and prioritize them for remediation
Deactivate the F12-Profiler plugin on affected sites until a patched version is confirmed installed
Instruct administrators to log out of WordPress sessions before browsing untrusted sites

Patch Information

At the time of publication, review the Patchstack advisory for the latest vendor fix status. Upgrade F12-Profiler to a version newer than 1.3.9 once released by Forge12 Interactive GmbH.

Workarounds

Deactivate and remove the F12-Profiler plugin if it is not business-critical
Restrict WordPress administrator access to dedicated browsers or profiles that are not used for general browsing
Deploy a WAF ruleset that enforces Origin and Referer header validation on /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php and /wp-admin/admin-post.php requests

bash

# Example WAF rule concept (ModSecurity) to block cross-origin admin POSTs
SecRule REQUEST_METHOD "@streq POST" \
  "chain,phase:2,deny,status:403,id:1002700,\
  msg:'Potential CSRF against WordPress admin endpoint'"
  SecRule REQUEST_URI "@rx /wp-admin/(admin-ajax|admin-post)\.php" "chain"
    SecRule REQUEST_HEADERS:Referer "!@beginsWith https://your-wordpress-site.example"