CVE-2025-47459 Overview
CVE-2025-47459 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability [CWE-352] affecting the Roxnor FundEngine WordPress plugin (wp-fundraising-donation). The flaw is present in all versions up to and including 1.7.3. An attacker who tricks an authenticated user into visiting a crafted page can cause the victim's browser to submit unwanted state-changing requests to the plugin. Exploitation requires user interaction and results in limited integrity impact without affecting confidentiality or availability.
Critical Impact
Successful exploitation lets a remote attacker perform unauthorized actions in the context of an authenticated FundEngine user by leveraging missing anti-CSRF protections.
Affected Products
- Roxnor FundEngine (wp-fundraising-donation) WordPress plugin
- All versions from initial release through 1.7.3
- WordPress sites running the FundEngine crowdfunding and donation plugin
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-05-07 - CVE-2025-47459 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-47459
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability stems from missing Cross-Site Request Forgery protections in the FundEngine plugin. State-changing endpoints in the plugin do not validate the origin of incoming requests through a nonce or equivalent token. An attacker can construct a malicious HTML page or link that submits a forged request to a vulnerable FundEngine endpoint. When an authenticated user visits the attacker-controlled resource, the browser automatically attaches session cookies and the request executes with the victim's privileges.
The issue is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery. The attack requires user interaction, which limits opportunistic exploitation but does not prevent targeted phishing scenarios.
Root Cause
The plugin's request handlers omit WordPress nonce verification (wp_verify_nonce or check_admin_referer) on functions that modify server state. Without these checks, the application cannot distinguish between an intentional request from the user interface and a forged request submitted by a third-party site.
Attack Vector
The attack path is network-based and requires the victim to be authenticated to the target WordPress site. An attacker hosts a page containing a form or JavaScript payload that targets a vulnerable FundEngine endpoint. When the victim visits the page, the browser issues the forged request, and the plugin processes it as legitimate. The impact is limited to actions the victim is authorized to perform within the plugin's scope.
Refer to the Patchstack CSRF Vulnerability Report for technical details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-47459
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected modifications to FundEngine campaigns, donations, or plugin settings without corresponding admin activity in access logs
- HTTP POST requests to FundEngine endpoints with Referer or Origin headers pointing to external, untrusted domains
- Authenticated session activity originating from suspicious referrers immediately after users visited external links
Detection Strategies
- Review web server access logs for state-changing requests to wp-fundraising-donation endpoints that lack a valid _wpnonce parameter
- Correlate WordPress admin action timestamps with user browsing history to identify requests triggered from external sites
- Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) rule that flags requests to plugin endpoints missing WordPress nonce tokens
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable WordPress audit logging plugins to record all administrative and plugin-level state changes
- Alert on unusual referrers in requests targeting /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or plugin-specific routes
- Monitor for spikes in failed or malformed requests to FundEngine endpoints that may indicate exploitation attempts
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-47459
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the FundEngine plugin to a version later than 1.7.3 once released by the vendor
- Restrict administrative access to trusted networks and enforce short session lifetimes for privileged users
- Educate administrators on the risk of clicking untrusted links while authenticated to the WordPress admin panel
Patch Information
At the time of the NVD publication, no fixed version was listed for versions through 1.7.3. Site owners should monitor the Patchstack advisory and the plugin's WordPress.org page for a security release addressing CVE-2025-47459.
Workarounds
- Deactivate and remove the FundEngine plugin until a patched version is available if the plugin is not business-critical
- Deploy a WAF rule to block requests to FundEngine endpoints that lack a valid _wpnonce parameter or arrive with external Referer headers
- Enforce SameSite=Lax or SameSite=Strict cookie attributes on WordPress session cookies to reduce cross-site request risk
# Example WAF rule concept - block external referers to plugin endpoints
# ModSecurity pseudo-rule
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" \
"chain,deny,status:403,id:1004759,msg:'Potential CSRF against FundEngine'"
SecRule ARGS:action "@rx ^(fundengine|wpfd)_" \
"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.
