CVE-2025-53308: Image Slider Plugin CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2025-53308 Overview

CVE-2025-53308 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the Image Slider With Description WordPress plugin developed by gopi_plus. This vulnerability allows attackers to perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks by exploiting the lack of proper CSRF protection in the plugin's administrative functions.

The vulnerability enables malicious actors to trick authenticated administrators into executing unintended actions, ultimately leading to persistent XSS payloads being stored within the WordPress site. When combined, these vulnerabilities create a dangerous attack chain that can compromise site integrity and visitor security.

Critical Impact

Attackers can leverage CSRF to inject persistent malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of all site visitors and administrators, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, and further site compromise.

Affected Products

• Image Slider With Description WordPress Plugin versions up to and including 9.2
• WordPress sites running vulnerable versions of the image-slider-with-description plugin

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-06-27 - CVE-2025-53308 published to NVD
• 2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-53308

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability represents a chained attack scenario combining Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) with Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). The Image Slider With Description plugin fails to implement proper nonce verification on critical administrative endpoints, allowing attackers to craft malicious requests that authenticated administrators may unknowingly execute.

When an administrator visits a malicious page while logged into their WordPress site, the attacker-crafted request is processed as if it were a legitimate administrative action. This allows the injection of malicious JavaScript code into slider content fields, which is then stored in the database and rendered to all subsequent visitors.

The attack requires user interaction (the administrator must visit the malicious page), but once successful, the stored XSS payload persists and affects all users who view pages containing the compromised slider.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the absence of CSRF token validation (WordPress nonce verification) in the plugin's administrative form handlers. WordPress provides the wp_nonce_field() and wp_verify_nonce() functions specifically to prevent CSRF attacks, but the vulnerable plugin versions fail to implement these security controls.

Additionally, the plugin does not properly sanitize user input before storing it in the database, allowing malicious script content to be saved and later rendered without proper escaping.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires the following conditions:

1. The attacker identifies a WordPress site running the vulnerable Image Slider With Description plugin (version 9.2 or earlier)
2. The attacker crafts a malicious HTML page containing a hidden form that submits to the plugin's administrative endpoint
3. The attacker tricks a logged-in WordPress administrator into visiting the malicious page (via phishing, social engineering, or embedding in a compromised site)
4. The administrator's browser automatically submits the forged request with valid session cookies
5. The malicious XSS payload is stored in the WordPress database
6. All subsequent visitors to pages displaying the slider execute the attacker's JavaScript code

The vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the victim's browser session, potentially stealing authentication cookies, modifying page content, or redirecting users to malicious sites.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-53308

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected JavaScript code or iframe elements within slider description fields in the WordPress database
• Suspicious entries in the wp_options table or custom tables used by the Image Slider With Description plugin
• Browser console errors indicating blocked XSS attempts if Content Security Policy is in place
• Reports from users about unexpected redirects or pop-ups when viewing slider content

Detection Strategies

• Review web server access logs for POST requests to plugin administrative endpoints from unusual referrer URLs
• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to detect and block inline script execution attempts
• Use WordPress security plugins that monitor database changes for potentially malicious content
• Conduct regular audits of slider content for unexpected HTML or JavaScript elements

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging for WordPress administrative actions and plugin settings changes
• Configure Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block CSRF attack patterns
• Set up alerts for modifications to slider content outside normal administrative workflows
• Monitor for unusual outbound connections from the WordPress server that may indicate successful exploitation

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-53308

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Image Slider With Description plugin to the latest version that addresses this vulnerability
• Review all existing slider content for suspicious JavaScript or HTML elements and remove any malicious code
• Temporarily deactivate the plugin if an update is not available and the slider is not critical to operations
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with CSRF protection rules as an additional defense layer

Patch Information

Security researchers at Patchstack identified this vulnerability. Users should check for plugin updates through the WordPress admin dashboard or visit the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for the latest remediation guidance.

Ensure WordPress core and all plugins are updated to their latest versions to benefit from security improvements.

Workarounds

• Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers that prevent inline script execution: Content-Security-Policy: script-src 'self';
• Restrict access to the WordPress admin area by IP address or VPN to reduce the attack surface
• Train administrative users to recognize phishing attempts and avoid clicking links from untrusted sources while logged into WordPress
• Consider using a dedicated browser session for WordPress administration that is not used for general web browsing

# Add CSP header to Apache configuration
# Add to .htaccess or virtual host configuration
Header set Content-Security-Policy "script-src 'self' 'unsafe-eval'; object-src 'none';"

# For Nginx, add to server block
# add_header Content-Security-Policy "script-src 'self' 'unsafe-eval'; object-src 'none';";