CVE-2025-52797: StoryMap wp-storymap CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2025-52797 Overview

CVE-2025-52797 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the StoryMap WordPress plugin (wp-storymap) developed by josepsitjar. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous as it allows attackers to chain the CSRF weakness with SQL Injection attacks, potentially leading to unauthorized database access and data exfiltration from WordPress installations using the affected plugin.

Critical Impact

This chained CSRF-to-SQL Injection vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL queries against the WordPress database by tricking authenticated administrators into clicking malicious links or visiting attacker-controlled web pages.

Affected Products

• StoryMap WordPress plugin (wp-storymap) version 2.1 and earlier
• All WordPress installations running vulnerable versions of wp-storymap
• WordPress sites where administrators have the plugin installed and activated

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-08-14 - CVE-2025-52797 published to NVD
• 2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-52797

Vulnerability Analysis

The StoryMap WordPress plugin fails to implement proper Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) protections in its request handling mechanisms. WordPress plugins are expected to verify nonce tokens for all state-changing operations to prevent unauthorized actions. The wp-storymap plugin neglects this security requirement, leaving critical functionality exposed to forged requests.

What makes this vulnerability particularly severe is the chained attack pathway: the CSRF weakness serves as an entry point that subsequently enables SQL Injection attacks. When an authenticated administrator visits a malicious page crafted by an attacker, the browser automatically includes session credentials in the forged request. The vulnerable endpoint processes this request without verifying its legitimacy and passes user-controlled input directly to database queries without proper sanitization.

The attack requires user interaction (clicking a link or visiting a page), but the potential impact is significant. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive database contents, including user credentials, personal information, and other confidential data stored in the WordPress database.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is twofold:

1. Missing CSRF Token Validation (CWE-352): The plugin does not implement WordPress nonce verification for sensitive operations, allowing forged requests from external origins to be processed as legitimate.

2. Insufficient Input Sanitization: User-supplied parameters are incorporated into SQL queries without proper escaping or parameterized query usage, enabling SQL injection when combined with the CSRF bypass.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires some level of social engineering to trick an authenticated administrator into triggering the malicious request. The attacker crafts a malicious HTML page or link containing a forged request targeting the vulnerable StoryMap plugin endpoint. When an authenticated WordPress administrator visits the attacker's page (or clicks the malicious link), the browser automatically sends the forged request along with the administrator's session cookies.

The forged request includes SQL injection payloads in vulnerable parameters. Since the plugin lacks both CSRF protection and proper input sanitization, the malicious SQL commands are executed against the WordPress database with the privileges of the web application's database user.

This attack vector enables unauthorized data extraction from the WordPress database. The scope is changed (marked as S:C in the CVSS vector) because the vulnerability in the WordPress plugin can impact the underlying database system, potentially exposing data beyond the plugin's intended scope.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-52797

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual database query patterns or errors in WordPress/PHP logs indicating SQL injection attempts
• Unexpected HTTP POST requests to StoryMap plugin endpoints originating from external referrers
• Database access logs showing anomalous SELECT or UNION-based queries targeting WordPress tables
• Web server logs containing suspicious parameter values with SQL syntax (quotes, UNION, SELECT keywords)

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in requests to /wp-admin/ and StoryMap-related endpoints
• Monitor for requests to StoryMap plugin endpoints that lack valid WordPress nonce tokens
• Deploy database activity monitoring to alert on unusual query patterns or data exfiltration attempts
• Review referrer headers in logs for requests to sensitive plugin endpoints from external domains

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed WordPress debug logging to capture plugin-related errors and suspicious activity
• Configure SIEM alerts for patterns consistent with CSRF and SQL injection attacks targeting WordPress installations
• Implement real-time monitoring of database queries for injection signatures
• Set up alerts for unusual data volume extraction from WordPress database tables

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-52797

Immediate Actions Required

• Deactivate and remove the StoryMap (wp-storymap) plugin version 2.1 and earlier from all WordPress installations immediately
• Review WordPress database access logs for signs of unauthorized data access or exfiltration
• Audit WordPress user accounts and database contents for signs of compromise
• Consider resetting database credentials if exploitation is suspected

Patch Information

As of the last update, no official patch has been confirmed for this vulnerability. Website administrators should monitor the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Database for updates on remediation options. Until a patch is available, removing the plugin is the recommended course of action.

Workarounds

• Remove the StoryMap plugin entirely if functionality is not critical to your WordPress site
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection and CSRF protection rules as a defense-in-depth measure
• Restrict administrative access to WordPress from trusted IP addresses only
• Educate WordPress administrators about the risks of clicking unknown links while logged in

# WordPress CLI command to deactivate the vulnerable plugin
wp plugin deactivate wp-storymap --path=/var/www/html/wordpress

# Optionally remove the plugin entirely
wp plugin delete wp-storymap --path=/var/www/html/wordpress

# Review installed plugins for other potential vulnerabilities
wp plugin list --status=active --path=/var/www/html/wordpress