CVE-2025-31623: Rich Text Editor CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2025-31623 Overview

CVE-2025-31623 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Rich Text Editor WordPress plugin (richtexteditor) that enables attackers to perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. This chained vulnerability allows malicious actors to trick authenticated administrators into unknowingly submitting requests that inject persistent malicious scripts into the WordPress site.

Critical Impact

This CSRF-to-Stored-XSS vulnerability chain could allow attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of administrator sessions, potentially leading to complete site compromise, data theft, or malware distribution to site visitors.

Affected Products

• Rich Text Editor WordPress Plugin version 1.0.1 and earlier
• WordPress installations using the richtexteditor plugin

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-03-31 - CVE-2025-31623 published to NVD
• 2026-04-15 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-31623

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability combines two distinct attack vectors into a dangerous exploit chain. The Rich Text Editor plugin fails to implement proper CSRF protection (nonce verification) on sensitive administrative actions. When combined with insufficient output sanitization, this allows attackers to inject persistent malicious scripts that execute whenever the affected content is viewed.

The CSRF component (CWE-352) enables the initial unauthorized state-changing request, while the lack of proper input validation and output encoding permits the injected payload to persist and execute as Stored XSS. This chained approach significantly increases the attack's severity as the malicious script persists in the database and affects all users who view the compromised content.

Root Cause

The root cause stems from missing anti-CSRF token validation in the plugin's form handling mechanisms. Without proper nonce verification, the plugin cannot distinguish between legitimate administrative requests and forged requests from malicious sites. Additionally, the plugin fails to properly sanitize user input before storing it in the database and does not encode output when rendering content, enabling the Stored XSS component of this attack.

Attack Vector

The attack requires social engineering to lure an authenticated WordPress administrator to visit a malicious webpage. This attacker-controlled page contains a hidden form that automatically submits a request to the vulnerable plugin endpoint. Since the plugin lacks CSRF protection, the administrator's browser includes their authentication cookies with the forged request, causing the malicious payload to be accepted and stored.

The attacker would typically craft a malicious HTML page containing JavaScript that automatically submits a form to the WordPress admin endpoint handling Rich Text Editor settings or content. The form would include XSS payloads in the submitted data. Once stored, these malicious scripts execute whenever any user views the affected content, potentially stealing session tokens, redirecting users to phishing sites, or performing additional malicious actions.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-31623

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected JavaScript code or <script> tags in Rich Text Editor content areas
• Suspicious iframe or external resource references in stored content
• Unusual administrative activity logs showing configuration changes without corresponding legitimate admin sessions
• Browser console errors related to cross-origin requests from the WordPress admin area

Detection Strategies

• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to detect and block unauthorized script execution
• Monitor WordPress database tables for suspicious content patterns including encoded JavaScript payloads
• Review web server access logs for unusual POST requests to Rich Text Editor plugin endpoints
• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect CSRF attack patterns and XSS payloads

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable WordPress audit logging to track all administrative actions and configuration changes
• Configure real-time alerts for modifications to plugin settings or content areas
• Implement file integrity monitoring on WordPress core and plugin files
• Monitor for outbound connections to unknown external domains from the WordPress server

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-31623

Immediate Actions Required

• Deactivate and remove the Rich Text Editor plugin (richtexteditor) immediately if currently installed
• Audit all content created using the Rich Text Editor for signs of injected malicious scripts
• Review WordPress user accounts for any unauthorized administrative accounts
• Consider alternative rich text editor plugins with active security maintenance and proper CSRF protection

Patch Information

As of the last available information, versions through 1.0.1 remain affected. Administrators should check the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for the latest patch status and vendor response. If no patch is available, removing the plugin is the recommended course of action.

Workarounds

• Remove or deactivate the Rich Text Editor plugin until a security patch is released
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to block CSRF and XSS attack patterns
• Restrict administrative access to trusted IP addresses only using .htaccess or server-level firewall rules
• Enable WordPress nonce verification at the server level for all plugin form submissions where possible

# Example .htaccess restriction for WordPress admin area
<Files wp-admin>
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
    Allow from YOUR_TRUSTED_IP
</Files>