CVE-2025-53249: Build App Online CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2025-53249 Overview

CVE-2025-53249 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the Build App Online WordPress plugin developed by hakeemnala. The flaw exists in all plugin versions up to and including 1.0.23. An attacker can craft a malicious web page that, when visited by an authenticated user, triggers unauthorized state-changing requests against the target WordPress site. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-352, Cross-Site Request Forgery. Successful exploitation can result in high availability impact on the affected WordPress installation.

Critical Impact
An attacker who tricks an authenticated administrator into visiting a malicious page can perform privileged actions on the WordPress site, leading to service disruption.

Affected Products

hakeemnala Build App Online plugin for WordPress
Versions from n/a through <= 1.0.23
WordPress installations with the build-app-online plugin activated

Discovery Timeline

2025-08-14 - CVE-2025-53249 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-53249

Vulnerability Analysis

The Build App Online plugin fails to validate the origin of state-changing HTTP requests. WordPress plugins should verify a nonce token, generated with wp_create_nonce() and validated with check_admin_referer() or wp_verify_nonce(), before executing sensitive actions. When this control is missing, the browser of an authenticated user automatically attaches session cookies to any request initiated by an attacker-controlled page.

The vulnerability requires user interaction, meaning an authenticated user must visit a malicious page or click a crafted link. The attack traverses the network vector without authentication on the attacker's side, since the victim's browser supplies the session. The impact is limited to availability, suggesting the abusable action disrupts plugin functionality or site operation rather than exposing or altering confidential data.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or improperly implemented CSRF protection [CWE-352] in one or more request handlers within the build-app-online plugin. Handlers processing administrative or configuration changes do not enforce nonce verification, allowing forged requests to succeed when submitted with a valid session cookie.

Attack Vector

An attacker hosts a page containing an auto-submitting HTML form or an image tag pointing at the vulnerable plugin endpoint. When a logged-in WordPress administrator visits the page, the browser sends the forged request with valid authentication cookies. The plugin processes the request as legitimate because it does not validate a nonce or Referer header. Consult the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for additional technical detail.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-53249

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected configuration changes within the Build App Online plugin settings without corresponding administrator activity in audit logs.
HTTP POST or GET requests to build-app-online plugin endpoints with Referer headers pointing to external, untrusted domains.
Administrator sessions generating plugin-related requests immediately after visiting unrelated external sites.

Detection Strategies

Inspect web server access logs for requests to /wp-admin/admin.php?page=build-app-online* or /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php where the Referer header is external or missing.
Enable WordPress audit logging plugins to capture administrative actions and correlate them with authenticated session activity.
Monitor for anomalous administrator behavior patterns, such as configuration changes occurring outside of routine maintenance windows.

Monitoring Recommendations

Alert on WordPress admin actions that lack a valid same-origin Referer header.
Track plugin version inventory across managed WordPress sites and flag installations still running build-app-online1.0.23 or earlier.
Review outbound HTTP traffic from administrator workstations for connections to suspicious domains that could host CSRF payloads.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-53249

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Build App Online plugin to a version later than 1.0.23 once the vendor publishes a fix.
Deactivate and remove the build-app-online plugin if a patched release is not yet available and the functionality is not essential.
Require administrators to log out of WordPress sessions before browsing untrusted sites and enforce short session lifetimes.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no fixed version is listed in the enriched CVE data. Refer to the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for the latest vendor patch status and remediation guidance.

Workarounds

Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that enforces same-origin Referer or Origin header checks on requests targeting build-app-online endpoints.
Restrict access to /wp-admin/ by source IP address or via VPN to reduce exposure to opportunistic CSRF payloads.
Enforce browser session isolation for administrative accounts by using a dedicated browser profile or workstation for WordPress management.

bash

# Example WAF rule concept - block admin requests missing same-origin Referer
# ModSecurity pseudo-rule
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-admin/admin.php" \
    "chain,deny,status:403,id:1005301,msg:'CSRF: missing or external Referer'"
    SecRule ARGS:page "@streq build-app-online" \
        "chain"
        SecRule REQUEST_HEADERS:Referer "!@beginsWith https://your-wordpress-site.example/" \
            "t:none"