CVE-2025-64271: Hasthemes WP Plugin Manager CSRF Issue

CVE-2025-64271 Overview

CVE-2025-64271 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability [CWE-352] affecting the HasThemes WP Plugin Manager WordPress plugin. The flaw impacts all versions up to and including 1.4.7. An attacker can trick an authenticated WordPress administrator into submitting forged requests that perform plugin management actions without consent. Successful exploitation requires user interaction with attacker-controlled content while authenticated to the target site. The vulnerability was published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) on November 13, 2025, and carries a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.5.

Critical Impact
An unauthenticated attacker can coerce authenticated administrators into performing unintended plugin management actions on WordPress sites running WP Plugin Manager <= 1.4.7, leading to integrity and confidentiality impacts.

Affected Products

HasThemes WP Plugin Manager <= 1.4.7
WordPress sites with the wp-plugin-manager plugin installed
All prior versions of the plugin without CSRF token validation

Discovery Timeline

2025-11-13 - CVE-2025-64271 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-64271

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability originates from missing or insufficient CSRF protection in the WP Plugin Manager plugin. WordPress provides nonce mechanisms (wp_nonce_field, check_admin_referer, wp_verify_nonce) to validate that state-changing requests originate from legitimate sources. WP Plugin Manager versions <= 1.4.7 fail to properly validate these tokens on privileged actions.

An attacker crafts a malicious page or email containing a forged HTTP request targeting the plugin's administrative endpoints. When an authenticated administrator visits the attacker-controlled resource, the browser transmits the request along with the administrator's session cookies. The server processes the action as if it were an intentional administrative request.

Root Cause

The root cause is a missing anti-CSRF token validation on privileged plugin endpoints. WordPress plugins must verify the _wpnonce parameter for state-changing operations, but WP Plugin Manager does not enforce this check consistently. Any origin can therefore submit requests that the plugin accepts as authentic.

Attack Vector

Exploitation occurs over the network and requires user interaction. The attacker hosts a page containing an auto-submitting form or image tag that references the vulnerable endpoint. When a logged-in WordPress administrator visits the page, their browser executes the forged request under the administrator's active session. Depending on the affected endpoint, this can enable unauthorized plugin activation, deactivation, or configuration changes on the target WordPress site.

No verified public exploit code is available for CVE-2025-64271. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for advisory details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-64271

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected plugin activation or deactivation events in the WordPress wp_options or activity logs
HTTP POST or GET requests to WP Plugin Manager endpoints containing a Referer header pointing to an external, untrusted domain
Administrator sessions performing plugin management actions immediately after visiting external links
Missing or absent _wpnonce parameter on requests to wp-plugin-manager administrative handlers

Detection Strategies

Monitor WordPress admin activity logs for plugin state changes correlated with external referrers or unusual user-agent strings
Inspect web server access logs for requests to WP Plugin Manager endpoints lacking valid nonce parameters
Alert on administrator accounts triggering plugin configuration changes outside of normal working hours or from unrecognized IP ranges

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable a WordPress audit logging plugin to record all administrative actions, including plugin activation and settings changes
Forward web application logs to a centralized SIEM to correlate suspicious referrers with privileged actions
Track the installed version of wp-plugin-manager across all WordPress sites to identify hosts still running <= 1.4.7

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-64271

Immediate Actions Required

Update HasThemes WP Plugin Manager to a version later than 1.4.7 as soon as a fixed release is available from the vendor
Audit WordPress administrator activity for unauthorized plugin state changes since the plugin was installed
Enforce least-privilege for WordPress accounts and limit the number of users with the activate_plugins capability

Patch Information

At the time of publication, the vendor advisory listed in the Patchstack Vulnerability Report confirms the vulnerability affects versions up to and including 1.4.7. Administrators should monitor the WordPress plugin repository for a patched release and apply updates immediately once published.

Workarounds

Deactivate and remove the WP Plugin Manager plugin until a patched version is released
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that requires a valid same-origin Referer or Origin header on requests to wp-admin endpoints associated with the plugin
Require administrators to log out of WordPress sessions when not actively managing the site to reduce the window for CSRF exploitation
Use browser isolation or a dedicated administrative browser profile that does not visit untrusted sites while authenticated to WordPress

bash

# Example WAF rule enforcing same-origin Referer on plugin admin endpoints
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-admin/admin.php" \
  "chain,phase:2,deny,status:403,id:1006427,msg:'CSRF protection for WP Plugin Manager'"
  SecRule ARGS:page "@rx wp-plugin-manager" \
    "chain"
    SecRule &REQUEST_HEADERS:Referer "@eq 0"