CVE-2025-64252: ANAC XML Viewer SSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2025-64252 Overview

A Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability has been identified in the ANAC XML Viewer WordPress plugin developed by Marco Milesi. This vulnerability allows attackers to make the server perform unauthorized requests to internal or external resources, potentially exposing sensitive data or enabling further attacks against internal infrastructure.

Critical Impact

Attackers can exploit this SSRF vulnerability to bypass network security controls, access internal services, scan internal networks, or exfiltrate sensitive data through the vulnerable WordPress plugin.

Affected Products

• ANAC XML Viewer WordPress Plugin versions up to and including 1.8.2
• WordPress installations with the anac-xml-viewer plugin installed

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-22 - CVE CVE-2025-64252 published to NVD
• 2026-01-22 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-64252

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-918 (Server-Side Request Forgery), a security weakness that occurs when a web application fetches remote resources based on user-supplied input without properly validating the destination URL. In the context of the ANAC XML Viewer plugin, the application processes XML data that may contain references to external resources, allowing attackers to manipulate these references to target arbitrary URLs.

SSRF vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins are particularly dangerous because they can be leveraged to interact with internal services that are typically protected by firewalls or network segmentation. An attacker could potentially access cloud metadata services, internal databases, or other sensitive endpoints that should not be reachable from the public internet.

Root Cause

The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user-controlled URLs within the ANAC XML Viewer plugin. When the plugin processes XML content, it follows URL references without properly restricting the destination addresses. This allows attackers to specify internal IP addresses, localhost, or cloud metadata endpoints as targets for server-side requests.

Attack Vector

The attack can be executed by submitting malicious XML content to the plugin that contains crafted URL references. When the server processes this content, it makes requests to attacker-specified destinations. This can be exploited to:

• Access internal services and APIs not exposed to the internet
• Retrieve cloud instance metadata (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• Scan internal network infrastructure
• Bypass IP-based access controls
• Potentially achieve remote code execution through chained attacks

The vulnerability manifests when the plugin processes XML data containing external entity references or URL parameters. Attackers can craft requests that cause the server to fetch resources from internal network addresses or sensitive cloud metadata endpoints. For detailed technical information, refer to the Patchstack Security Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-64252

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual outbound requests from the WordPress server to internal IP ranges (e.g., 169.254.169.254, 10.x.x.x, 192.168.x.x)
• HTTP requests to cloud metadata endpoints originating from the web server
• Unexpected DNS lookups for internal hostnames from the WordPress application
• Log entries showing requests to localhost or loopback addresses from the plugin

Detection Strategies

• Monitor web server logs for requests containing internal IP addresses or localhost references in XML parameters
• Implement network-level detection for outbound requests to metadata service endpoints (e.g., 169.254.169.254)
• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect SSRF payload patterns in incoming requests
• Use endpoint detection solutions to identify anomalous network behavior from web server processes

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for the WordPress application and web server to capture detailed request information
• Configure alerts for outbound connections from the web server to internal network ranges
• Implement egress filtering and monitor for violations indicating potential SSRF exploitation
• Review access logs for the ANAC XML Viewer plugin endpoints for suspicious XML content submissions

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-64252

Immediate Actions Required

• Deactivate and remove the ANAC XML Viewer plugin (anac-xml-viewer) if not essential for operations
• If the plugin is required, restrict access to authenticated users only and implement additional URL validation
• Review server logs for evidence of exploitation attempts
• Implement network-level egress filtering to prevent the server from accessing internal resources

Patch Information

Check for updates to the ANAC XML Viewer plugin that address this vulnerability. Monitor the Patchstack Security Advisory for patch availability and version information. Until a patch is available, consider implementing the workarounds below.

Workarounds

• Disable the ANAC XML Viewer plugin until a patched version is released
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to block SSRF payloads
• Configure network-level restrictions to prevent the web server from making requests to internal IP ranges
• Use allowlist-based URL validation if modifying plugin code is feasible

# Example: Block outbound requests to internal networks using iptables
# Prevent SSRF attacks from reaching internal services
iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp -d 169.254.169.254 -j DROP
iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp -d 10.0.0.0/8 -j DROP
iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp -d 172.16.0.0/12 -j DROP
iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp -d 192.168.0.0/16 -j DROP