CVE-2025-54052: Realtyna Organic IDX CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2025-54052 Overview

CVE-2025-54052 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the Realtyna Organic IDX plugin (real-estate-listing-realtyna-wpl) for WordPress that can be chained to achieve PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI). This vulnerability allows attackers to exploit missing CSRF protections to trick authenticated users into performing unintended actions, which can then be leveraged to include arbitrary local PHP files on the server.

The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it combines two attack vectors—CSRF and LFI—creating a chain that can potentially lead to remote code execution if sensitive files can be included or if combined with other vulnerabilities such as file upload capabilities.

Critical Impact

Attackers can exploit this CSRF vulnerability to achieve Local File Inclusion, potentially reading sensitive configuration files, accessing credentials, or achieving code execution on vulnerable WordPress installations.

Affected Products

• Realtyna Organic IDX plugin (real-estate-listing-realtyna-wpl) version 5.0.0 and earlier
• WordPress installations using vulnerable versions of the plugin

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-08-20 - CVE-2025-54052 published to NVD
• 2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-54052

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from insufficient CSRF token validation in the Realtyna Organic IDX plugin. The plugin fails to properly verify that state-changing requests originate from legitimate user sessions. When combined with improper input validation on file path parameters, this creates a chained attack scenario where CSRF can be exploited to trigger Local File Inclusion.

The attack requires user interaction—specifically, an authenticated WordPress administrator or user with plugin access must be tricked into visiting a malicious page or clicking a crafted link while authenticated to the WordPress site. The network-accessible nature of WordPress sites makes this vulnerability exploitable from anywhere on the internet, though the requirement for user interaction and specific conditions increases the attack complexity.

Successful exploitation could allow attackers to read sensitive files from the server filesystem, access WordPress configuration files containing database credentials, or potentially achieve code execution by including malicious PHP files if other conditions are met.

Root Cause

The root cause is twofold: First, the plugin lacks proper CSRF protection mechanisms (CWE-352) on sensitive functionality. Second, file inclusion operations do not properly sanitize or validate user-controlled input, allowing attackers to specify arbitrary file paths. The combination of these two weaknesses creates a more severe vulnerability than either would present individually.

Attack Vector

The attack follows a network-based vector where an attacker crafts a malicious webpage or link containing a forged request targeting the vulnerable plugin endpoint. The attack sequence proceeds as follows:

1. The attacker identifies a victim who has administrative access to a WordPress site running the vulnerable plugin
2. The attacker crafts a malicious HTML page containing a forged request with Local File Inclusion payloads
3. The victim, while authenticated to WordPress, visits the malicious page or clicks the crafted link
4. The victim's browser automatically sends the forged request to the WordPress site, including authentication cookies
5. The vulnerable plugin processes the request without CSRF validation and includes the specified file
6. Sensitive file contents may be returned to the attacker or used to execute arbitrary code

The attack requires network access to the vulnerable WordPress installation and depends on user interaction to trigger the forged request. For more technical details, refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-54052

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP requests to Realtyna Organic IDX plugin endpoints containing file path traversal sequences (e.g., ../, ..%2f)
• Web server access logs showing requests with file inclusion patterns targeting the plugin
• Error logs indicating failed file inclusion attempts or unexpected file access operations
• Evidence of wp-config.php or other sensitive files being accessed through web requests

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block requests containing path traversal patterns targeting WordPress plugins
• Monitor for HTTP referrer anomalies where requests to sensitive plugin endpoints originate from external or suspicious domains
• Enable and review WordPress debug logging for unusual file inclusion errors or warnings
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions to identify post-exploitation activity if file inclusion is successful

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure alerts for access attempts to sensitive WordPress configuration files via web requests
• Monitor web server logs for patterns consistent with CSRF attacks, such as state-changing requests with external referrers
• Implement file integrity monitoring on critical WordPress files to detect unauthorized modifications
• Review WordPress admin activity logs for unusual actions performed through the vulnerable plugin

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-54052

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Realtyna Organic IDX plugin to the latest patched version immediately
• If an update is not available, consider temporarily deactivating the plugin until a patch is released
• Review web server logs for any evidence of exploitation attempts
• Implement WAF rules to block path traversal and CSRF attack patterns

Patch Information

Organizations should check the WordPress plugin repository and the Patchstack vulnerability database for the latest security updates addressing this vulnerability. Apply all available security patches for the Realtyna Organic IDX plugin and ensure WordPress core and all other plugins are up to date.

Workarounds

• Implement additional CSRF protection at the web server level using security headers such as SameSite cookie attributes
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall with rules specifically targeting path traversal and CSRF attack patterns
• Restrict plugin access to only necessary user roles and review user permissions
• Consider using WordPress security plugins that add additional CSRF and file inclusion protections

# Apache mod_security rule example to block path traversal attempts
# Add to .htaccess or Apache configuration
SecRule REQUEST_URI "\.\./" "id:1001,phase:1,deny,status:403,msg:'Path Traversal Attempt Blocked'"
SecRule ARGS "@contains ../" "id:1002,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Path Traversal in Parameters Blocked'"