Overview
A medium-severity security vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-13629, has been discovered in the WP Landing Page plugin for WordPress. This vulnerability affects all versions up to, and including, 0.9.3. It stems from a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) flaw within the plugin’s code, specifically related to the lack of nonce validation in the wplp_api_update_text function. This issue could allow unauthenticated attackers to modify arbitrary post meta if they can successfully trick a site administrator into performing an unintended action, such as clicking a malicious link.
Technical Details
The vulnerability resides in the wplp_api_update_text function within the WP Landing Page plugin. The absence of proper nonce validation allows an attacker to forge requests on behalf of an authenticated administrator. A nonce (number used once) is a cryptographic token that verifies that the user intended to perform the action. Without it, an attacker can craft a malicious request (e.g., embedded in an email or website) that, when triggered by a logged-in administrator, can update post meta values. This could be exploited to inject malicious code, deface the website, or potentially gain further unauthorized access.
The vulnerable code can be found in the wplp-api.php file.
CVSS Analysis
The CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) score for CVE-2025-13629 is 4.3 (Medium). The CVSS vector string is likely something 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 factors:
- Attack Vector (AV:N): Network – The vulnerability can be exploited over the network.
- Attack Complexity (AC:L): Low – The complexity of exploiting the vulnerability is low.
- Privileges Required (PR:N): None – No privileges are required to exploit the vulnerability (other than tricking an admin).
- User Interaction (UI:R): Required – User interaction (clicking a link) is required for successful exploitation.
- Scope (S:U): Unchanged – An exploited vulnerability cannot affect components beyond its security scope.
- Confidentiality (C:N): None – There is no impact to confidentiality.
- Integrity (I:L): Low – There is a low impact to integrity (modification of data).
- Availability (A:N): None – There is no impact to availability.
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of this CSRF vulnerability could lead to various negative consequences:
- Website Defacement: Attackers could modify content on the landing pages, leading to website defacement.
- Malicious Code Injection: Attackers could inject malicious scripts into the landing pages, potentially redirecting users to phishing sites or installing malware.
- SEO Poisoning: Altering meta descriptions and keywords could negatively impact the website’s search engine ranking.
- Privilege Escalation (Potentially): While directly unlikely, compromised post meta could, in some cases, be leveraged as part of a more complex attack chain leading to privilege escalation.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
The most effective mitigation is to immediately update the WP Landing Page plugin to the latest version. Check the WordPress plugin repository for an updated version that addresses this vulnerability. If an update isn’t available, consider temporarily deactivating the plugin until a patch is released.
General Security Best Practices:
- Always keep WordPress core, themes, and plugins up to date.
- Use strong and unique passwords for all administrator accounts.
- Educate website administrators about the risks of clicking suspicious links.
- Consider using a security plugin that provides CSRF protection and monitors for suspicious activity.