CVE-2025-28927 Overview
CVE-2025-28927 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the A. Chappard Display Template Name plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.7.1. An attacker can trick an authenticated user into executing unwanted actions on the vulnerable plugin by clicking a crafted link or visiting a malicious page. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352 and requires user interaction to be exploited over the network.
Critical Impact
An attacker can leverage an authenticated administrator's session to perform unauthorized state-changing operations on the plugin, resulting in limited integrity impact on the affected WordPress site.
Affected Products
- A. Chappard Display Template Name WordPress plugin
- Versions from n/a through 1.7.1
- WordPress sites with the plugin installed and active
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-03-11 - CVE-2025-28927 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-28927
Vulnerability Analysis
The Display Template Name plugin fails to implement adequate anti-CSRF protection on one or more of its state-changing endpoints. WordPress provides a nonce mechanism (wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer()) specifically to prevent this class of attack. When a plugin omits or incorrectly validates these nonces, an attacker-controlled page can forge HTTP requests that execute in the context of an authenticated user's browser.
The flaw is tracked as CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery. Because the plugin operates within the WordPress administrative interface, successful exploitation requires an authenticated user, typically an administrator, to interact with attacker-supplied content while logged in.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence or incorrect verification of CSRF tokens on request handlers that mutate plugin state. Without a validated per-request nonce tied to the user session, the server cannot distinguish between a legitimate request initiated from the WordPress dashboard and a forged request originating from an external page.
Attack Vector
The attack requires network access and user interaction. An attacker crafts a malicious webpage or email containing an HTML form or JavaScript that submits a request to the vulnerable plugin endpoint. When an authenticated WordPress user visits the attacker's page, the browser automatically includes the user's session cookies, causing the plugin to process the forged request as legitimate. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-28927
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected modifications to Display Template Name plugin settings without a corresponding administrator action in the audit log.
- HTTP requests to plugin endpoints containing an external Referer header not matching the site's own domain.
- POST requests to WordPress admin endpoints lacking the expected _wpnonce parameter.
Detection Strategies
- Monitor web server access logs for POST requests to /wp-admin/ paths related to the Display Template Name plugin originating from cross-origin referers.
- Correlate authenticated user sessions with the timing of plugin configuration changes to identify anomalous state changes.
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to inspect and validate the presence of nonce parameters on plugin-specific admin requests.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable WordPress activity logging plugins to record configuration changes with user, IP, and referer context.
- Alert on administrator sessions performing sensitive operations shortly after visiting external links or opening email content.
- Track outbound requests from admin browsers to detect exposure to malicious CSRF payloads.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-28927
Immediate Actions Required
- Identify all WordPress installations running the Display Template Name plugin at version 1.7.1 or earlier.
- Deactivate and remove the plugin if a patched version is not available or the plugin is not essential.
- Instruct administrators to log out of the WordPress dashboard before browsing untrusted sites or opening links from unknown sources.
Patch Information
At the time of publication, no fixed version beyond 1.7.1 is listed in the referenced advisory. Consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the latest remediation guidance and any subsequent vendor updates.
Workarounds
- Restrict access to the /wp-admin/ interface by source IP address using web server or WAF rules.
- Deploy a WordPress security plugin that enforces nonce validation and same-origin checks on administrative requests.
- Enforce use of the SameSite=Lax or SameSite=Strict attribute on WordPress session cookies to reduce cross-site request exposure.
- Require administrators to use a dedicated browser or browser profile exclusively for WordPress administration.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
