CVE-2025-14164: 
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-14164 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Quran Gateway plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 1.5. The flaw stems from missing nonce validation in the quran_gateway_options function, allowing unauthenticated attackers to modify the plugin's display settings by tricking a site administrator into clicking a malicious link. It was published on December 20, 2025, and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.3 (Medium) (Wordfence, Red Hat CVE).

The root cause is CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery), specifically the absence of WordPress nonce verification in the quran_gateway_options function within admin.php (line 457). Because no nonce is checked before processing settings updates, any forged HTTP POST request that originates from an authenticated administrator's browser session will be accepted and applied. Exploitation requires social engineering — the attacker must lure a logged-in administrator to visit a page or click a link containing the forged request (Wordfence, WordPress Trac).

Successful exploitation allows an unauthenticated attacker to modify the Quran Gateway plugin's display settings on the affected WordPress site, resulting in a low integrity impact with no confidentiality or availability consequences. While the direct impact is limited to plugin configuration changes, unauthorized settings modifications could be used to alter site content presentation or serve as a stepping stone for further abuse if combined with other vulnerabilities (Wordfence).

No public exploit code or active in-the-wild exploitation has been reported for CVE-2025-14164. The EPSS score is approximately 0.012% (0.000120), indicating a very low probability of exploitation in the near term. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Exploitation requires user interaction (an administrator must be tricked into triggering the forged request), which further limits practical exploitability (Wordfence, Red Hat CVE).

1. Reconnaissance: Identify WordPress sites running the Quran Gateway plugin version ≤1.5 using tools like WPScan or by inspecting publicly accessible plugin metadata.
2. Craft forged request: Create a malicious HTML page or link containing a hidden form that submits a POST request to the target site's WordPress admin endpoint (e.g., wp-admin/admin.php?page=quran-gateway) with attacker-controlled plugin settings values.
3. Social engineering: Deliver the malicious link or page to a site administrator via phishing email, comment, or other channel, inducing them to click it while authenticated to the WordPress admin panel.
4. Settings modification: When the administrator's browser loads the attacker's page, the forged form auto-submits, and the server processes the request without nonce validation, applying the attacker's desired plugin display settings (Wordfence, WordPress Trac).

• Logs: Unexpected POST requests to wp-admin/admin.php with Quran Gateway plugin parameters originating from unusual referrers or external domains in WordPress access logs.
• File System: Unexplained changes to Quran Gateway plugin settings stored in the WordPress options table (wp_options) for keys associated with the plugin.
• Network: Admin-session requests to plugin settings endpoints arriving from external or unfamiliar IP addresses or referrer URLs not matching the site's own domain.

WordPress site administrators should check for an updated version of the Quran Gateway plugin that includes nonce validation in the quran_gateway_options function and upgrade immediately if available. If no patched version exists, consider deactivating or removing the plugin until a fix is released. As a general hardening measure, administrators should avoid clicking unsolicited links while logged into the WordPress admin panel and use browser extensions or security plugins that help detect CSRF attempts (Wordfence).

The vulnerability was discovered and disclosed by Wordfence, which published the advisory on December 20, 2025. Coverage has been limited to automated vulnerability aggregators and security feeds, with no notable researcher commentary or significant media coverage identified beyond standard CVE tracking (Wordfence).