CVE-2025-48085: Simple Stripe CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2025-48085 Overview

CVE-2025-48085 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the ZIPANG Simple Stripe WordPress plugin that can be chained with Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). This vulnerability allows attackers to trick authenticated administrators into executing malicious actions, ultimately enabling the injection of persistent JavaScript code into the WordPress site.

Critical Impact

Attackers can leverage CSRF to inject stored XSS payloads, potentially compromising administrator sessions, stealing credentials, or delivering malware to site visitors.

Affected Products

• ZIPANG Simple Stripe (simple-stripe) plugin version 0.9.17 and earlier
• WordPress installations using the vulnerable Simple Stripe plugin
• All sites with the Simple Stripe plugin versions from initial release through 0.9.17

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-11-06 - CVE-2025-48085 published to NVD
• 2026-04-27 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-48085

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability represents a chained attack combining two distinct weaknesses: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) and Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). The Simple Stripe plugin fails to implement proper CSRF token validation on administrative form submissions, allowing attackers to craft malicious requests that execute in the context of an authenticated administrator's session.

The CSRF weakness enables attackers to bypass the same-origin policy restrictions by tricking administrators into visiting a malicious page containing a crafted form that automatically submits to the vulnerable plugin endpoint. Because the plugin also lacks proper output encoding and input sanitization, the injected content persists in the database and executes whenever the affected page is rendered.

This attack requires user interaction—specifically, an administrator must be lured into visiting an attacker-controlled page while authenticated to the WordPress site. Once the CSRF attack succeeds, the stored XSS payload persists indefinitely, affecting all subsequent visitors to the compromised page.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the absence of CSRF protection mechanisms (such as nonce verification) in the Simple Stripe plugin's administrative functions, combined with insufficient input sanitization and output encoding. WordPress provides built-in functions like wp_nonce_field() and wp_verify_nonce() specifically to prevent CSRF attacks, but the plugin fails to implement these protections. Additionally, user-supplied input is not properly sanitized with functions like sanitize_text_field() or escaped with esc_html() before storage and display.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker crafts a malicious HTML page containing an auto-submitting form that targets the vulnerable plugin endpoint. When an authenticated WordPress administrator visits this page, their browser automatically submits the forged request containing the XSS payload. The payload is then stored in the WordPress database and executed in the browsers of all users who subsequently view the affected content.

The attacker can host the malicious page on any domain and deliver it through phishing emails, social media, or compromised websites. The stored XSS component enables persistent attacks that can steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing pages, modify page content, or deploy cryptocurrency miners.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-48085

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected JavaScript code in Simple Stripe plugin settings or output fields
• Suspicious <script> tags or event handlers in database entries related to the plugin
• Unusual outbound connections from visitor browsers to unknown domains
• Reports of unexpected behavior or redirects on pages using Simple Stripe functionality

Detection Strategies

• Review WordPress database tables for unexpected HTML or JavaScript content in Simple Stripe configuration entries
• Monitor web server access logs for POST requests to Simple Stripe admin endpoints with unusual referrer headers
• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers and monitor violation reports for XSS attempts
• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block CSRF and XSS attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable WordPress audit logging to track administrative changes to plugin settings
• Configure real-time alerts for modifications to Simple Stripe plugin configurations
• Monitor client-side JavaScript execution anomalies using browser-based security tools
• Implement integrity monitoring for WordPress database content related to payment plugins

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-48085

Immediate Actions Required

• Disable or remove the Simple Stripe plugin until a patched version is available
• Audit existing Simple Stripe plugin settings and database entries for injected malicious content
• Review WordPress access logs for suspicious administrative activity
• Implement Web Application Firewall rules to block CSRF and XSS attack patterns targeting the plugin

Patch Information

Currently, no official patch has been confirmed for this vulnerability. Site administrators should monitor the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for updates regarding patched versions. Consider replacing the Simple Stripe plugin with an alternative payment solution that maintains active security updates.

Workarounds

• Deactivate the Simple Stripe plugin and use an alternative Stripe integration until a security update is released
• Restrict administrative access to the WordPress dashboard to trusted IP addresses only
• Implement additional authentication factors for WordPress administrative sessions
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall with CSRF and XSS protection rules enabled

# WordPress CLI commands to disable the vulnerable plugin
wp plugin deactivate simple-stripe --path=/var/www/html/wordpress

# Check for suspicious content in WordPress options table
wp db query "SELECT * FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE '%simple_stripe%'" --path=/var/www/html/wordpress

# Enable WordPress debug logging to monitor for exploitation attempts
wp config set WP_DEBUG true --raw --path=/var/www/html/wordpress
wp config set WP_DEBUG_LOG true --raw --path=/var/www/html/wordpress