CVE-2025-47447 Overview
CVE-2025-47447 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability [CWE-352] affecting the Hossni Mubarak Cool Author Box WordPress plugin (hm-cool-author-box-widget). The vulnerability impacts all versions of Cool Author Box up to and including 3.0.0. An attacker can trick an authenticated WordPress user into submitting a forged request that performs unintended actions within the plugin. Successful exploitation requires user interaction, such as clicking a crafted link or visiting an attacker-controlled page. The vulnerability affects the integrity of plugin data but does not directly expose confidential information or disrupt availability.
Critical Impact
Attackers can perform unauthorized state-changing actions in Cool Author Box by luring authenticated users to attacker-controlled pages, resulting in limited integrity impact on plugin configuration.
Affected Products
- Hossni Mubarak Cool Author Box (hm-cool-author-box-widget) versions through 3.0.0
- WordPress installations with the vulnerable plugin activated
- Sites where administrators or privileged users interact with untrusted content
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-05-07 - CVE-2025-47447 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-47447
Vulnerability Analysis
The Cool Author Box plugin fails to validate the origin and intent of state-changing HTTP requests. The plugin does not enforce anti-CSRF protections such as WordPress nonces (wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer()) on sensitive actions. An attacker who crafts a malicious page containing an auto-submitting form or embedded request can trigger plugin actions when a logged-in WordPress user visits it. Because the browser automatically attaches the user's authentication cookies, the request executes with the victim's privileges. The attack requires user interaction, which limits scale but not feasibility against targeted administrators.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing CSRF token verification on request handlers exposed by the plugin. WordPress provides a nonce mechanism to bind requests to a specific user session and action, but the vulnerable code paths in Cool Author Box do not validate these tokens before performing state changes. This aligns with CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery.
Attack Vector
Exploitation occurs over the network and requires an authenticated victim to load attacker-controlled content. A typical attack chain involves the attacker hosting a page with hidden HTML form elements targeting the plugin endpoint, then delivering the URL through phishing or a compromised site. When the victim visits, the browser submits the forged request to the WordPress site. Refer to the Patchstack CSRF Vulnerability Report for advisory details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-47447
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected modifications to Cool Author Box plugin settings or widget content without corresponding admin activity in audit logs
- HTTP POST requests to plugin endpoints with Referer headers pointing to external, unrelated domains
- Repeated plugin action requests originating from user sessions immediately after visits to unknown external URLs
Detection Strategies
- Enable WordPress activity logging to correlate plugin configuration changes with the initiating user and source referrer
- Inspect web server access logs for requests to Cool Author Box handlers that lack a valid _wpnonce parameter
- Alert on cross-origin Referer headers submitting requests to WordPress admin endpoints while a privileged user session is active
Monitoring Recommendations
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule set to identify cross-origin form submissions targeting /wp-admin/ endpoints
- Monitor for phishing campaigns delivering links that target WordPress administrators of sites running the plugin
- Review file integrity monitoring output for changes to plugin configuration tables in the WordPress database
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-47447
Immediate Actions Required
- Deactivate the Cool Author Box plugin until a patched version above 3.0.0 is confirmed available from the vendor
- Instruct administrators to log out of WordPress sessions before browsing untrusted content
- Audit recent plugin configuration changes and revert unauthorized modifications
Patch Information
At the time of publication, no fixed version above 3.0.0 is listed in the advisory. Monitor the Patchstack advisory and the plugin's WordPress.org page for a security update. Apply the vendor patch across all WordPress environments once released.
Workarounds
- Remove or disable the hm-cool-author-box-widget plugin until a fix is published
- Restrict WordPress administrative access to trusted IP ranges via web server or WAF rules
- Enforce browser session isolation for administrators, using dedicated browsers or profiles for WordPress management
- Configure SameSite=Strict or SameSite=Lax on session cookies at the WordPress or reverse-proxy layer to reduce CSRF exposure
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
