CVE-2025-30529: Auto Load Next Post CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2025-30529 Overview

CVE-2025-30529 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the Auto Load Next Post plugin for WordPress, developed by Sébastien Dumont. The flaw impacts all plugin versions from initial release through 1.5.14. An attacker can craft a malicious web page or link that, when visited by an authenticated administrator, triggers unauthorized state-changing actions within the plugin. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352 and requires user interaction to succeed. Exploitation impacts integrity but does not disclose data or degrade availability.

Critical Impact
An attacker can trick an authenticated WordPress administrator into submitting forged requests that alter Auto Load Next Post plugin settings without their consent.

Affected Products

Sébastien Dumont Auto Load Next Post plugin for WordPress
All versions from initial release through 1.5.14
WordPress installations with the vulnerable plugin activated

Discovery Timeline

2025-03-24 - CVE-2025-30529 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-30529

Vulnerability Analysis

The Auto Load Next Post plugin fails to validate the origin of state-changing HTTP requests. WordPress plugins typically use nonces to bind requests to authenticated sessions, but the affected plugin either omits nonce checks or verifies them improperly on sensitive endpoints. This allows an external site to issue requests that the victim's browser automatically authenticates using existing session cookies. The impact is limited to integrity changes reachable through the plugin's administrative actions, consistent with the EPSS score of 0.197%, which suggests low near-term exploitation likelihood.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient CSRF protection on privileged plugin endpoints. Standard WordPress defenses such as wp_nonce_field() generation and check_admin_referer() or wp_verify_nonce() validation were not correctly applied. Without server-side verification that a request originated from a legitimate plugin form, any cross-origin request carrying the administrator's session cookie is accepted as valid.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires a network-based interaction and user action. An attacker hosts a malicious page containing an auto-submitting form or image tag that targets the plugin's administrative endpoint. When a logged-in WordPress administrator visits the attacker-controlled page, the browser attaches authentication cookies to the outbound request. The server processes the forged request as if the administrator initiated it, resulting in unauthorized configuration changes within the Auto Load Next Post plugin. No credentials or privileges are required from the attacker directly, but the victim must be authenticated at the time of the click. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-30529

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected changes to Auto Load Next Post plugin settings in the WordPress admin database tables such as wp_options.
HTTP POST requests to plugin admin endpoints with Referer headers pointing to external, untrusted domains.
Administrator activity in access logs originating from unusual client-side redirects or third-party pages.

Detection Strategies

Review web server access logs for administrative requests lacking valid WordPress nonce parameters (_wpnonce).
Correlate administrator session activity with browser referer data to identify cross-origin submissions.
Audit plugin configuration change history in WordPress activity log plugins or database backups.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable a WordPress security or audit-log plugin to record administrative setting changes with timestamps and user context.
Alert on HTTP requests to /wp-admin/ endpoints missing the expected _wpnonce or referer values.
Monitor for administrator logins followed by immediate configuration changes to plugin options.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-30529

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Auto Load Next Post plugin to a version later than 1.5.14 once the vendor releases a fix.
Deactivate the Auto Load Next Post plugin if a patched version is not yet available and the functionality is not essential.
Instruct administrators to log out of WordPress sessions before browsing untrusted sites.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, the vulnerability affects all Auto Load Next Post versions through 1.5.14. Site owners should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the plugin's official repository for updated release information.

Workarounds

Restrict WordPress administrator access to dedicated browsers or browser profiles that are not used for general web browsing.
Deploy a web application firewall rule that blocks requests to plugin admin endpoints when the Referer header does not match the site's own domain.
Enforce short administrator session lifetimes to reduce the window where forged requests can succeed.

bash

# Example WAF rule concept: reject cross-origin POSTs to WordPress admin endpoints
# ModSecurity-style pseudo-rule
SecRule REQUEST_METHOD "@streq POST" \
  "chain,deny,status:403,id:1003529,msg:'Possible CSRF against WordPress admin'"
  SecRule REQUEST_URI "@beginsWith /wp-admin/" \
    "chain"
    SecRule REQUEST_HEADERS:Referer "!@beginsWith https://your-site.example/" \
      "t:none"