CVE-2025-31600 Overview
CVE-2025-31600 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability [CWE-352] affecting the designnbuy DesignO WordPress plugin (designo). The flaw affects all versions from initial release through version 2.6.0. An attacker can craft a malicious web page that, when visited by an authenticated user, triggers unintended state-changing actions in the plugin. Exploitation requires user interaction but no privileges on the target site. The vulnerability carries an EPSS score of 0.136%, indicating low observed exploitation activity.
Critical Impact
A remote attacker can induce authenticated WordPress users to submit forged requests, leading to limited integrity impact on plugin-managed data and configuration.
Affected Products
- designnbuy DesignO (designo) WordPress plugin — versions up to and including 2.6.0
- WordPress sites with the DesignO plugin installed and active
- Administrative and editor accounts authenticated to affected WordPress instances
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-03-31 - CVE-2025-31600 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-31600
Vulnerability Analysis
The DesignO plugin fails to validate the origin of state-changing HTTP requests. WordPress provides a nonce mechanism (wp_nonce_field, check_admin_referer, wp_verify_nonce) to bind requests to authenticated user sessions. The affected plugin endpoints do not enforce this validation, allowing requests initiated from external origins to be processed as legitimate. The confidentiality impact is none, integrity impact is low, and availability impact is none, so the attack primarily enables unauthorized modification of plugin state rather than data theft or service disruption.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or insufficient anti-CSRF token validation on plugin request handlers. Requests reach privileged handler functions without verifying a per-session nonce or checking the Origin and Referer headers. This maps to [CWE-352]: Cross-Site Request Forgery.
Attack Vector
Exploitation is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker hosts a page containing a forged HTML form or JavaScript-issued request targeting a vulnerable DesignO endpoint. When an authenticated WordPress user visits the attacker-controlled page, the browser automatically attaches the user's session cookies. The server processes the request as if the victim initiated it. No verified public proof-of-concept is available, and the vulnerability is not listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Refer to the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability advisory for additional technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-31600
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected changes to DesignO plugin configuration or design records without corresponding administrator activity in WordPress audit logs.
- HTTP POST requests to DesignO plugin endpoints containing Referer headers pointing to external, untrusted domains.
- Repeated administrative actions originating from a single user session within short time windows following external link clicks.
Detection Strategies
- Enable and review WordPress activity logs to correlate plugin state changes with authenticated user browsing patterns.
- Inspect web server access logs for POST requests to DesignO handlers lacking a valid same-origin Referer or with cross-origin values.
- Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) rule that flags requests to plugin endpoints missing expected _wpnonce parameters.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Monitor WordPress wp-admin and admin-ajax.php traffic for anomalous referrers and origin mismatches.
- Alert on modifications to DesignO database tables outside expected administrative maintenance windows.
- Track browser session activity for administrators to identify suspicious redirects or embedded third-party content preceding plugin changes.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-31600
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the DesignO plugin to a version later than 2.6.0 once the vendor publishes a fixed release.
- Restrict administrative access to trusted networks and enforce short-lived authenticated sessions.
- Require administrators to log out of WordPress before browsing untrusted sites.
- Deploy WAF rules that enforce nonce presence and validate Origin headers on plugin endpoints.
Patch Information
As of the last NVD modification on 2026-06-17, review the Patchstack advisory for current patch status and remediation guidance from designnbuy. If no fixed version is available, consider disabling the plugin until a patched release is published.
Workarounds
- Disable or uninstall the DesignO plugin on WordPress sites where it is not business-critical.
- Add a virtual patch at the WAF layer to reject requests to DesignO handlers that lack a valid _wpnonce value.
- Configure browser session isolation for WordPress administrator accounts using dedicated browser profiles.
# Example WAF rule concept (ModSecurity-style pseudocode)
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" \
"chain,deny,status:403,msg:'DesignO CSRF virtual patch'"
SecRule ARGS:action "@rx ^designo_" "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.
