Overview
A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-13685, has been discovered in the Photo Gallery by Ays plugin for WordPress. This vulnerability affects versions up to and including 6.4.8. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this flaw to perform bulk actions, such as deleting, publishing, or unpublishing galleries, if they can trick an administrator into clicking a malicious link or performing another action that unknowingly triggers the forged request.
Technical Details
The vulnerability stems from the missing nonce verification in the process_bulk_action() function. Specifically, the code responsible for handling bulk actions within the plugin does not properly validate that the request originated from a legitimate admin session. An attacker can craft a malicious URL or HTML form that, when accessed by a logged-in administrator, will trigger the execution of unwanted bulk actions on the photo galleries.
The vulnerable code is located in the following file (prior to the patch):
CVSS Analysis
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score for CVE-2025-13685 is 4.3 (Medium). The CVSS vector string is likely similar to CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N. This score reflects the following:
- Attack Vector (AV:N): Network – The vulnerability can be exploited over the network.
- Attack Complexity (AC:L): Low – The conditions for successful exploitation are easily met.
- Privileges Required (PR:N): None – No privileges are required to exploit the vulnerability.
- User Interaction (UI:R): Required – User interaction is required (e.g., clicking a link).
- Scope (S:U): Unchanged – An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority.
- Confidentiality (C:N): None – There is no impact to confidentiality.
- Integrity (I:L): Low – Some modification of data is possible.
- Availability (A:N): None – There is no impact to availability.
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of this CSRF vulnerability could allow an attacker to:
- Delete Photo Galleries: An attacker could delete galleries, potentially causing significant data loss and disruption of website content.
- Publish/Unpublish Photo Galleries: An attacker could manipulate the visibility of photo galleries, leading to unauthorized access or removal of content.
Because this vulnerability requires tricking an administrator, the impact is dependent on the administrator’s actions. However, the potential for data loss and disruption makes this a serious security concern.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
The vulnerability has been addressed in Photo Gallery by Ays plugin version 6.4.9. It is strongly recommended to update to the latest version of the plugin as soon as possible.
- Update the Plugin: Log in to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to the “Plugins” section, and update the Photo Gallery by Ays plugin to the latest available version (6.4.9 or later).
- Verify Update: After updating, verify that the plugin version is indeed 6.4.9 or later.
- Monitor for Suspicious Activity: Keep an eye on your website’s logs for any unusual activity, such as unexpected gallery deletions or modifications.
