CVE-2025-53193 Overview
CVE-2025-53193 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the Burst Statistics WordPress plugin developed by Burst Statistics B.V. The flaw impacts all versions from initial release through and including 2.0.6. An attacker can trick an authenticated user into submitting a forged request that performs unintended state-changing actions within the plugin. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery and requires user interaction to be exploited successfully.
Critical Impact
An attacker can leverage a victim's authenticated session to perform unauthorized actions on the Burst Statistics plugin, resulting in limited integrity impact on affected WordPress sites.
Affected Products
- Burst Statistics B.V. Burst Statistics WordPress plugin
- All versions from n/a through 2.0.6
- WordPress installations running the vulnerable burst-statistics plugin
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-06-27 - CVE-2025-53193 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-53193
Vulnerability Analysis
The Burst Statistics plugin fails to validate the origin and authenticity of state-changing HTTP requests. This allows an attacker to craft a malicious webpage or link that, when visited by an authenticated WordPress administrator, submits requests to the target site using the victim's session cookies. Because the plugin does not verify a nonce or check the request origin, the forged request is processed as legitimate.
The issue is limited to integrity impact and does not directly expose sensitive data or affect availability. Exploitation requires the victim to be authenticated to the target site and to interact with attacker-controlled content, such as clicking a crafted link or visiting a malicious page.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or improperly implemented CSRF protections on plugin endpoints that perform state-changing operations. WordPress provides nonce mechanisms via wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer(), but the affected endpoints in versions up to 2.0.6 do not enforce these checks consistently.
Attack Vector
The attack is delivered over the network and requires user interaction. An attacker hosts a crafted HTML page containing a form or JavaScript that auto-submits a request to the target WordPress site. When a logged-in administrator visits the page, the browser attaches session cookies and the request executes with the administrator's privileges.
No verified exploit code is publicly available. See the Patchstack advisory for additional technical detail.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-53193
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected configuration changes to the Burst Statistics plugin without corresponding administrator activity in audit logs
- HTTP requests to Burst Statistics endpoints containing external Referer headers pointing to untrusted domains
- Administrator sessions generating plugin state changes shortly after visiting external links
Detection Strategies
- Review web server access logs for POST requests targeting burst-statistics plugin endpoints with cross-origin Referer values
- Enable WordPress audit logging plugins to record configuration changes and correlate them with user activity
- Inspect browser history and email gateways for links that direct administrators to attacker-controlled domains
Monitoring Recommendations
- Monitor for anomalous administrator behavior, particularly plugin setting modifications occurring outside normal maintenance windows
- Alert on HTTP requests to wp-admin endpoints missing valid nonce parameters (_wpnonce)
- Track outbound clicks from administrator email accounts to unknown domains using web proxy telemetry
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-53193
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the Burst Statistics plugin to a version later than 2.0.6 as soon as a patched release is available
- Restrict WordPress administrator accounts from browsing untrusted websites while authenticated to the admin panel
- Enforce short session lifetimes for administrator accounts to reduce the exploitation window
Patch Information
Refer to the Patchstack advisory for CVE-2025-53193 for the latest patch status and vendor guidance. Apply the vendor-supplied fix once released through the WordPress plugin repository.
Workarounds
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with CSRF protection rules that inspect Referer and Origin headers on plugin endpoints
- Temporarily deactivate the Burst Statistics plugin until an upgrade is available if administrator exposure cannot be limited
- Require administrators to use a dedicated browser profile or isolated session for WordPress management tasks
# Example: disable the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI until patched
wp plugin deactivate burst-statistics
wp plugin status burst-statistics
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
