Overview
CVE-2025-13362 describes a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability found in the Norby AI WordPress plugin. This vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 1.0.3. The lack of sufficient nonce validation on the settings update functionality allows unauthenticated attackers to potentially modify the plugin’s settings and inject malicious web scripts. This attack requires tricking a logged-in WordPress administrator into performing an action, such as clicking a specially crafted link.
Technical Details
The Norby AI plugin’s save.php file, responsible for handling settings updates, does not properly validate the presence of a nonce. A nonce (number used once) is a security token that verifies that the request originated from the site itself, mitigating CSRF attacks. Without this validation, an attacker can forge a request that appears to come from a legitimate administrator user. This forged request can then be used to modify the plugin settings, potentially injecting malicious JavaScript or other harmful code into the website.
The vulnerability resides specifically in the API endpoint responsible for saving settings. As highlighted in the references, the save.php file within the /api/ directory lacks proper input sanitization and validation beyond the missing nonce check.
CVSS Analysis
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score for CVE-2025-13362 is 4.3 (MEDIUM). This score reflects the following factors:
- Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – The attack can be launched remotely over the network.
- Attack Complexity (AC): High (H) – Exploiting this vulnerability requires social engineering to trick an administrator into clicking a malicious link or performing another action.
- Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – The attacker does not need any privileges on the target system prior to the attack.
- User Interaction (UI): Required (R) – User interaction is required to trigger the vulnerability (e.g., clicking a link).
- Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority.
- Confidentiality Impact (C): None (N) – There is no confidentiality impact.
- Integrity Impact (I): Low (L) – The attacker can modify some website data, potentially injecting malicious scripts.
- Availability Impact (A): None (N) – There is no impact on system availability.
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of this CSRF vulnerability can have several detrimental impacts:
- Website Defacement: Attackers can inject malicious code to deface the website, displaying unwanted content or redirecting users to malicious sites.
- Malware Distribution: By injecting malicious JavaScript, attackers can redirect users to websites hosting malware, infecting their computers.
- Account Takeover: In some cases, injected JavaScript could be used to steal administrator cookies or other sensitive information, leading to account takeover.
- SEO Poisoning: Attackers can inject spam links or content, damaging the website’s search engine ranking.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
The primary mitigation is to update the Norby AI plugin to the latest version. If an update is not yet available, consider temporarily disabling the plugin until a patched version is released. Here are the recommended steps:
- Update the Plugin: Check for updates to the Norby AI plugin in your WordPress dashboard. If a newer version is available, install it immediately.
- Disable the Plugin (If No Update Available): If an update is not yet available, disable the Norby AI plugin to prevent potential exploitation.
- Monitor for Updates: Keep an eye on the WordPress plugin repository and the plugin developer’s website for news about updates and security patches.
- Web Application Firewall (WAF): Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to filter out malicious requests and provide an additional layer of security. However, a WAF is a workaround, and updating the plugin is the preferred solution.
