CVE-2025-60164: NewsmanApp CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2025-60164 Overview

CVE-2025-60164 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the NewsMAN NewsmanApp WordPress plugin that allows attackers to trigger Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). The flaw affects all NewsmanApp versions up to and including 2.7.7. An attacker can craft a malicious request that, when triggered by an authenticated administrator visiting an attacker-controlled page, injects persistent JavaScript into the WordPress site. The weakness is categorized under [CWE-352] (Cross-Site Request Forgery).

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation results in persistent script execution in administrator browsers, enabling session theft, content manipulation, and downstream account takeover on affected WordPress sites.

Affected Products

• NewsMAN NewsmanApp WordPress plugin versions through 2.7.7
• WordPress installations using the newsmanapp plugin
• Sites with authenticated administrators able to be socially engineered into visiting attacker-controlled pages

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-09-26 - CVE-2025-60164 published to NVD
• 2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-60164

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability combines two web application weaknesses. First, the NewsmanApp plugin fails to validate the origin of state-changing requests, accepting administrative actions without verifying CSRF tokens. Second, input fields processed by these vulnerable endpoints are not sanitized before storage and rendering, enabling Stored XSS.

An attacker hosts a malicious page containing a forged request targeting a NewsmanApp administrative endpoint. When an authenticated WordPress administrator visits this page, the browser submits the request using existing session cookies. The plugin processes the request as legitimate and stores attacker-controlled JavaScript in plugin configuration or content fields.

The injected payload subsequently executes whenever any user with access loads the affected page in the WordPress admin interface. The attack chain requires user interaction (UI:R) but does not require attacker authentication, broadening the pool of viable targets.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or improperly implemented CSRF protection on plugin endpoints that accept administrator input. WordPress provides the wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer() functions to mitigate CSRF, but the affected newsmanapp versions either omit these checks or implement them on a subset of endpoints. The absence of output encoding compounds the issue by permitting injected markup to execute as script.

Attack Vector

Exploitation proceeds over the network and requires the victim administrator to load attacker-controlled content. The attacker delivers a phishing link, malicious advertisement, or compromised third-party site embedding a forged form or XMLHttpRequest targeting the vulnerable plugin endpoint. Because the scope changes (S:C), the injected script can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component, including the broader WordPress administrative session.

No verified public exploit code is available for CVE-2025-60164. See the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability advisory for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-60164

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected <script> tags or JavaScript event handlers stored in NewsmanApp plugin configuration tables or option values
• Outbound HTTP requests from administrator browsers to unfamiliar domains during WordPress admin sessions
• New or modified WordPress administrator accounts created shortly after suspected exploitation
• Referer headers in plugin POST requests originating from external, non-WordPress domains

Detection Strategies

• Inspect WordPress database tables and plugin option entries for HTML or JavaScript content where plain text is expected
• Review web server access logs for POST requests to newsmanapp administrative endpoints with external Referer headers
• Monitor browser console errors and Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports from authenticated admin sessions
• Correlate WordPress audit log entries for plugin setting changes against expected administrator activity

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable a WordPress activity logging plugin to record all administrative state changes with user attribution and source IP
• Forward web server and WordPress logs to a centralized log analytics platform for correlation and alerting on anomalous plugin modifications
• Alert on any plugin option fields containing the strings <script, onerror=, onload=, or javascript: schemes

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-60164

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the NewsmanApp plugin to a version newer than 2.7.7 once the vendor publishes a patched release
• Audit all plugin configuration and stored content fields for previously injected JavaScript payloads and remove them
• Force a password reset and session invalidation for all WordPress administrator accounts on affected sites
• Review WordPress user lists for unauthorized administrator accounts created during the exposure window

Patch Information

Refer to the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability advisory for the current vendor fix status. As of publication, the advisory lists affected versions through 2.7.7. Apply the patched release as soon as it becomes available through the WordPress plugin repository.

Workarounds

• Deactivate and remove the NewsmanApp plugin until a patched version is available if the functionality is non-essential
• Restrict WordPress administrator browser sessions to dedicated, hardened workstations to reduce CSRF exposure
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block POST requests to newsmanapp endpoints when the Referer header is missing or external
• Enforce a strict Content Security Policy (CSP) on /wp-admin/ to constrain inline script execution

# Example WAF rule (ModSecurity) to block off-site POSTs to the plugin
SecRule REQUEST_METHOD "@streq POST" \
  "chain,id:1060164,phase:1,deny,status:403,msg:'CVE-2025-60164 CSRF block'"
  SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-admin/admin.php?page=newsmanapp" \
    "chain"
    SecRule REQUEST_HEADERS:Referer "!@beginsWith https://your-wordpress-site.example/"