CVE-2025-48363: Popup for CF7 Sweet Alert CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2025-48363 Overview

CVE-2025-48363 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the Metin Saraç Popup for CF7 with Sweet Alert WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all plugin versions from initial release through 1.6.5. An attacker can craft a malicious web page or link that, when visited by an authenticated WordPress user, triggers unintended state-changing actions in the plugin without the user's consent. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery and requires user interaction to succeed.

Critical Impact
Attackers can trick authenticated WordPress administrators into performing unauthorized plugin actions through forged requests, leading to integrity impact on plugin configuration.

Affected Products

Metin Saraç Popup for CF7 with Sweet Alert (cf7-sweet-alert-popup) WordPress plugin
All versions from initial release through 1.6.5
WordPress sites using Contact Form 7 with this popup extension

Discovery Timeline

2025-08-28 - CVE-2025-48363 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-48363

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from missing or improperly validated anti-CSRF tokens on state-changing actions within the cf7-sweet-alert-popup plugin. WordPress provides a nonce mechanism through wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer() to prevent CSRF, but the affected plugin versions fail to enforce these checks on one or more request handlers.

An attacker exploits this by hosting a malicious page containing a hidden form or JavaScript payload targeting the vulnerable plugin endpoint. When a logged-in WordPress administrator visits this page, the browser automatically includes the user's session cookies with the forged request. WordPress then processes the request as legitimate.

The attack requires user interaction, so exploitation depends on social engineering. Successful exploitation results in low integrity impact with no direct confidentiality or availability consequences. The EPSS score of 0.131% indicates a low probability of exploitation activity in the near term.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of proper CSRF token validation on privileged actions exposed by the plugin. WordPress plugins must generate and verify nonces on any request that modifies server state. When these checks are missing, the browser's automatic cookie handling allows cross-origin requests to succeed with the victim's authenticated session.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based via a crafted web page or email link. The attacker crafts an HTML form or XMLHttpRequest that submits to the vulnerable plugin endpoint on the target WordPress site. When an authenticated administrator clicks the malicious link or loads the attacker-controlled page, the forged request executes with the administrator's privileges. See the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for the technical writeup.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-48363

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected changes to Popup for CF7 with Sweet Alert plugin settings without corresponding administrator activity in audit logs
HTTP POST or GET requests to plugin endpoints containing an Origin or Referer header from an untrusted third-party domain
Plugin configuration modifications occurring immediately after an administrator visits an external link

Detection Strategies

Monitor WordPress administrative action logs for plugin setting changes that lack matching user-initiated sessions
Inspect web server access logs for requests to cf7-sweet-alert-popup handlers with cross-origin Referer headers
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that flags requests missing valid WordPress nonce parameters (_wpnonce)

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress activity logging plugins to record all administrator setting changes with timestamps and source IP addresses
Alert on outbound clicks from administrator sessions followed by state changes within a short time window
Correlate administrator authentication events with subsequent plugin configuration modifications

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-48363

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Popup for CF7 with Sweet Alert plugin to a version later than 1.6.5 once the vendor releases a patched release
If no fixed version is available, deactivate and remove the plugin from all affected WordPress installations
Audit recent plugin configuration changes and roll back any unauthorized modifications

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no fixed version beyond 1.6.5 is confirmed in the referenced advisory. Review the Patchstack advisory for current patch status and consult the plugin's WordPress.org page for updates.

Workarounds

Restrict administrative access to WordPress by requiring administrators to log out after each session or use dedicated browser profiles for admin tasks
Deploy a Web Application Firewall with CSRF protection rules that reject state-changing requests lacking valid _wpnonce tokens
Enforce SameSite=Strict or SameSite=Lax cookie attributes on WordPress authentication cookies to prevent cross-site request inclusion
Limit administrator accounts and apply least-privilege principles to reduce the blast radius of a successful CSRF attack

bash

# Example: enforce SameSite cookie attribute via WordPress wp-config.php
# Add to wp-config.php before the "That's all, stop editing!" line
@ini_set('session.cookie_samesite', 'Strict');
@ini_set('session.cookie_secure', '1');
@ini_set('session.cookie_httponly', '1');