CVE-2025-30583 Overview
CVE-2025-30583 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the ProRankTracker Pro Rank Tracker plugin for WordPress. The flaw allows attackers to chain CSRF with Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), enabling persistent script injection through forged authenticated requests. The vulnerability affects Pro Rank Tracker versions up to and including 1.0.0. The weakness is classified under CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery).
Critical Impact
Attackers can trick authenticated administrators into submitting forged requests that inject persistent JavaScript payloads, leading to session theft, administrative account takeover, and unauthorized changes to WordPress site content.
Affected Products
- ProRankTracker Pro Rank Tracker WordPress plugin
- All versions from n/a through 1.0.0
- WordPress sites with the affected plugin installed and activated
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-03-24 - CVE-2025-30583 published to NVD
- 2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-30583
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability combines two weaknesses into a single attack chain. The plugin fails to validate the origin of state-changing requests, lacking anti-CSRF nonce verification on sensitive endpoints. Compounding the issue, user-controlled input processed by these endpoints is stored without proper sanitization or output encoding.
An attacker hosts a malicious page containing a crafted form or fetch request. When an authenticated WordPress administrator visits the page, their browser automatically submits the forged request using existing session cookies. The plugin processes the request and stores attacker-supplied JavaScript in the database. Any subsequent page render delivers the payload to visitors and administrators, executing in their browser context.
The EPSS score is 0.16% with a percentile of 36.476, indicating low observed exploitation activity. However, the user interaction requirement is trivial to satisfy through phishing or watering-hole techniques.
Root Cause
The plugin omits WordPress nonce validation via wp_verify_nonce() or check_admin_referer() on request handlers that persist user-supplied data. Input is then stored and rendered without escaping functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), or wp_kses(), allowing script tags and event handlers to survive in the database and execute on render.
Attack Vector
The attack vector is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker delivers a link or embedded payload to an authenticated administrator through email, chat, or a compromised site. The victim's browser issues the forged request to the WordPress instance, which executes the action under the victim's privileges. The injected script then runs in any browser session that subsequently loads the affected page.
No verified exploit code is publicly available. See the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Advisory for additional technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-30583
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected <script> tags, onerror, onload, or javascript: handlers stored in plugin-managed database tables or WordPress wp_options entries
- Administrator sessions making POST requests to plugin endpoints without a valid _wpnonce parameter or Referer header matching the site origin
- Outbound browser requests from administrator workstations to unfamiliar domains after visiting the WordPress admin dashboard
Detection Strategies
- Audit the WordPress database for plugin-stored fields containing HTML tags, JavaScript event handlers, or encoded payload markers such as <script
- Review web server access logs for POST requests to wp-admin/admin.php or plugin AJAX endpoints lacking nonce parameters
- Inspect plugin source code paths to confirm whether check_admin_referer() or wp_verify_nonce() precedes data persistence calls
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable WordPress audit logging plugins to capture administrative actions and settings changes for the affected plugin
- Monitor browser-side telemetry for script execution originating from WordPress admin pages, such as unexpected fetches to external hosts
- Alert on changes to plugin configuration records and on the introduction of new HTML content in fields that should accept only plain text
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-30583
Immediate Actions Required
- Deactivate and remove the Pro Rank Tracker plugin until a patched version is released by the vendor
- Rotate WordPress administrator credentials and invalidate active sessions to remove any attacker-established persistence
- Inspect plugin-related database tables for stored payloads and remove injected content
Patch Information
No fixed version is identified in the advisory. The vulnerability affects Pro Rank Tracker through version 1.0.0, and a patched release was not listed in the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Advisory at the time of publication. Monitor the WordPress plugin repository and vendor channels for an update that introduces nonce validation and output escaping.
Workarounds
- Restrict access to the WordPress admin interface using IP allowlisting at the web server or WAF layer
- Deploy a web application firewall rule that blocks POST requests to plugin endpoints when the Referer header does not match the site origin or when the _wpnonce parameter is absent
- Enforce administrator use of dedicated browsers or browser profiles to reduce cross-site cookie exposure during admin sessions
# Example WAF rule concept (ModSecurity) to block missing-nonce POSTs to admin endpoints
SecRule REQUEST_METHOD "@streq POST" \
"chain,deny,status:403,id:1003058,msg:'Blocked admin POST without _wpnonce'"
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@rx /wp-admin/admin\\.php" "chain"
SecRule &ARGS:_wpnonce "@eq 0"
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
