CVE-2025-49283 Overview
CVE-2025-49283 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability [CWE-352] affecting the Matthias Nordwig Anti-spam, Spam protection, ReCaptcha for all forms and GDPR-compliant WordPress plugin (gdpr-compliant-recaptcha-for-all-forms). The flaw impacts all plugin versions up to and including 4.1.1. An attacker can trick an authenticated user into submitting forged requests that trigger unintended state-changing actions in the plugin.
The vulnerability requires user interaction, such as clicking a crafted link or visiting a malicious page. Exploitation yields limited integrity impact with no direct effect on confidentiality or availability.
Critical Impact
A successful CSRF attack lets a remote actor perform plugin actions in the context of an authenticated WordPress user without their consent.
Affected Products
- Matthias Nordwig Anti-spam, Spam protection, ReCaptcha for all forms and GDPR-compliant plugin (gdpr-compliant-recaptcha-for-all-forms)
- All versions from n/a through 4.1.1
- WordPress installations with the plugin activated
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-06-06 - CVE-2025-49283 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-49283
Vulnerability Analysis
The plugin fails to properly validate the origin of state-changing HTTP requests. Requests that modify plugin state do not verify a valid anti-CSRF token, or the token validation can be bypassed. This weakness maps to [CWE-352] Cross-Site Request Forgery.
Because the attack vector is network-based and requires no privileges, any unauthenticated attacker can host a malicious page. When an authenticated WordPress user with sufficient privileges visits that page, the browser automatically attaches session cookies to the forged request. The plugin then processes the request as legitimate.
The scope is unchanged and impact is limited to integrity. Confidentiality and availability are not directly affected by the flaw itself.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or insufficient CSRF token validation on request handlers that alter plugin settings or perform privileged actions. WordPress provides wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer() primitives for this purpose. The affected plugin does not consistently enforce nonce checks before executing sensitive operations.
Attack Vector
An attacker crafts an HTML page or email containing a forged form or image tag that targets a vulnerable plugin endpoint on the victim's WordPress site. The victim must be authenticated to WordPress and must interact with the malicious content. Upon interaction, the browser issues the forged request with the user's session cookies, and the plugin executes the action.
See the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability advisory for additional technical detail.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49283
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected changes to the plugin configuration or reCaptcha settings without a corresponding administrator action in audit logs.
- HTTP POST requests to plugin endpoints with Referer headers pointing to external, untrusted domains.
- Administrator sessions generating plugin state changes shortly after visiting external links or opening HTML email content.
Detection Strategies
- Enable WordPress audit logging to capture plugin option changes and correlate with user session activity.
- Inspect web server access logs for cross-origin Referer values on requests targeting the plugin's admin-ajax or admin-post endpoints.
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that flags state-changing requests to plugin URLs lacking a valid nonce parameter.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Monitor wp_options table modifications tied to the gdpr-compliant-recaptcha-for-all-forms plugin.
- Alert on administrator account activity that includes rapid plugin setting changes originating from non-admin pages.
- Track outbound clicks and email link activity from privileged users using browser isolation or email security telemetry.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49283
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the gdpr-compliant-recaptcha-for-all-forms plugin to a version later than 4.1.1 once a patched release is available from the vendor.
- If no patched version is available, deactivate and remove the plugin from all WordPress installations.
- Review plugin settings and recent administrator activity for signs of unauthorized modification.
Patch Information
At the time of publication, the vulnerability affects all versions through 4.1.1. Consult the Patchstack advisory for updated patch availability and vendor guidance.
Workarounds
- Restrict WordPress administrator access to dedicated browsers or sessions that do not browse untrusted content.
- Deploy a WAF rule blocking cross-origin POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php and wp-admin/admin-post.php for plugin actions.
- Enforce SameSite=Lax or SameSite=Strict on WordPress authentication cookies to reduce CSRF exposure.
- Require re-authentication for privileged actions using a security plugin that adds nonce verification middleware.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
