Urgent Security Advisory: CVE-2025-10311 — Comment Info Detector (≤ 1.0.5) CSRF Vulnerability — Critical Actions for WordPress Site Owners & Developers

作者： Managed-WP Security Experts
Date: 2025-10-03
类别： WordPress Security, Vulnerabilities, Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Executive Summary

Our security team at Managed-WP has identified a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the widely used WordPress plugin “Comment Info Detector,” impacting versions 1.0.5 and earlier. Registered under CVE-2025-10311, this flaw enables remote attackers to trick authenticated administrators or privileged users into unintentionally modifying plugin settings through crafted requests.

Currently, no official patch or update has been released by the plugin developers. From a security perspective, these vulnerabilities are preventable through rigorous server-side validation involving nonce verification and capability checks. Additionally, deploying a properly configured Web Application Firewall (WAF) or hardening the administrative interface can significantly mitigate associated risks.

In this detailed advisory, Managed-WP outlines the technical aspects of this vulnerability, its practical impacts, detection methodologies, immediate action steps, temporary mitigations including virtual patching, and technical remedies for plugin developers.

Understanding the Vulnerability

• Vulnerability ID: CVE-2025-10311
• Affected Plugin: Comment Info Detector for WordPress
• Impacted Versions: Up to and including 1.0.5
• Vulnerability Class: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) targeting settings update
• Disclosure Date: October 3, 2025
• Severity: Low (CVSS Score 4.3) — Patch priority: Low

CSRF attacks exploit the trust a web application places in the authenticated user’s browser. In this case, the attacker lures an admin to execute a malicious request—such as clicking a link or loading an image—that silently submits a settings change to the vulnerable plugin without the admin’s knowledge. The core issue arises from inadequate validation of request origin and user permissions within the plugin.

Why This Vulnerability Matters: Potential Impact Scenarios

Despite its “Low” severity rating, the nature of CSRF on plugin settings can have significant consequences. Consider these plausible attack scenarios:

• Unauthorized Configuration Changes: Attackers can force admins to enable insecure plugin options like verbose logging or debug modes that expose sensitive data.
• Information Leakage: Settings could be manipulated to display more commenter data or create logs helpful for malicious reconnaissance.
• Further Exploitation: Exploiting misconfigurations induced via CSRF could escalate privileges or establish long-term backdoors.
• Automated Mass Attacks: Attackers commonly automate CSRF exploits across many sites using social engineering (e.g., phishing emails, malicious websites).

重要的： CSRF exploits require the victim to be logged in with appropriate privileges—normally an administrator. The attacker acts by leveraging the victim’s authenticated session.

Immediate Recommendations for Site Owners and Administrators

If your website currently utilizes the Comment Info Detector plugin (version ≤ 1.0.5), execute the following response plan immediately:

1. Identify Affected Installations:
   • Access your WordPress dashboard and verify the installed plugin version.
   • If managing multiple deployments, perform a comprehensive inventory across environments.
2. Disable or Restrict the Plugin:
   • Deactivate the plugin promptly if it is not mission-critical.
   • If essential, reduce risk by limiting admin user access and applying perimeter protections such as WAF virtual patches.
3. Consider Alternative Solutions:
   • Replace plugin functionalities with secure alternative tools or native WordPress features that adhere to security best practices.
4. Strengthen Administrative Controls:
   • Restrict wp-admin access to trusted IP addresses wherever feasible.
   • Enforce two-factor authentication (2FA) for all admin-level accounts.
   • Ensure robust password policies and conduct periodic audits of admin users.
   • Maintain minimal user privileges and avoid shared admin accounts.
5. Audit Logs and Plugin Settings:
   • Review server and WordPress logs for suspicious POST requests targeting plugin settings since disclosure.
   • Check your database (wp_options) for unauthorized changes or unknown entries linked to this plugin.
6. Rotate Credentials and Keys if Suspicious Activity is Detected:
   • Change admin passwords and refresh any API keys associated with your WordPress site immediately.
7. Notify Relevant Stakeholders:
   • Communicate incident details and response plans promptly with clients, team members, or hosting providers.

Temporary Perimeter Mitigations Using WAF and Server Rules

Until an official patched plugin version is available, virtual patching via WAF or web server configurations offers critical risk reduction. The following are practical mitigation strategies suitable for Managed-WP users and site admins alike:

A. Block Cross-Origin POST Requests to Admin Pages

• Prevent POST requests to /wp-admin/ originating from external referers.

Example Nginx configuration:

# Deny external-origin POSTs to wp-admin
location ~* ^/wp-admin/ {
    if ($request_method = POST) {
        if ($http_referer !~* ^https?://(www\.)?yourdomain\.com/) {
            return 403;
        }
    }
    try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}

Example Apache (.htaccess) snippet:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} POST
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^https?://(www\.)?yourdomain\.com/ [NC]
    RewriteRule ^wp-admin/ - [F]
</IfModule>

笔记： 代替 您的域名.com with your actual site domain to ensure proper enforcement.

B. Block Suspicious Content-Types and Enforce Origin Checking

• Require appropriate headers such as X-Requested-With for AJAX POST requests targeting admin endpoints.
• Reject POSTs with missing or external Referer headers unless accompanied by valid nonces.

C. Protect Specific Plugin Settings URLs

• Create WAF rules to block or challenge POST requests to plugin-specific admin pages (e.g., options.php?page=comment-info-detector) originated from external domains.

D. Rate Limit and Block Automated Exploitation Attempts

• Implement throttling and block suspicious IP addresses generating excessive POST requests to admin resources.

E. Virtual Patch Rule Patterns

• Detect and block POST bodies containing plugin-specific option names if the referer header is external.
• Deny requests with unique plugin query parameters unless originating from expected origins.

F. Monitoring and Alerts

• Configure alerts for blocked suspicious POST attempts targeting admin/plugin endpoints, enabling rapid incident response.

Managed-WP Clients: Enable our managed virtual patching solution to immediately shield your sites against this CVE without waiting for plugin updates.

Detection and Forensic Investigation

1. Gather Logs: Collect web server, WAF, and WordPress debug logs covering the timeframe since vulnerability disclosure.
2. Analyze POST Requests: Identify abnormal or foreign referer POST requests to admin/plugin endpoints.
3. Review Admin Activity: Validate login IPs and session patterns to detect unexpected access.
4. Database Inspection: Examine wp_options for unfamiliar plugin settings or recent unauthorized changes.
5. File System Check: Search for suspicious file changes or new PHP files that may indicate backdoors.
6. Preserve Evidence: Snapshot logs and database entries before performing remediation for potential incident response engagements.

Developer Guidance: Effective CSRF Mitigations

Plugin developers must incorporate the following measures to eliminate CSRF risks:

1. Implement WordPress Nonces:
   • Add nonce fields in forms using wp_nonce_field().
   • Verify nonces on requests using check_admin_referer() 或者 check_ajax_referer().
2. Validate User Capabilities:
   • Confirm privilege escalation prevention by enforcing current_user_can('manage_options') or equivalent.

   if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
       wp_die( 'Insufficient permissions' );
   }
         

3. Secure REST API Endpoints:
   • 使用 permission_callback to enforce access rights on API routes.

   register_rest_route( 'my-plugin/v1', '/settings', array(
       'methods' => 'POST',
       'callback' => 'my_plugin_update_settings',
       'permission_callback' => function() {
           return current_user_can( 'manage_options' );
       }
   ) );
         

4. Sanitize and Validate Inputs:
   • Sanitize all inputs server-side before processing or storing settings.
   • Never rely solely on client-side validations.
5. Protect Form Handlers:
   • Secure admin-post.php and admin-ajax.php actions with nonce and capability checks.
6. Restrict State-Changing Actions to POST:
   • Disallow use of GET requests for operations modifying plugin or site state.
7. 测试：
   • Integrate unit and integration tests confirming nonce and permission checks are enforced.

Additional Hardening Recommendations

1. Enable Security HTTP Headers:
   • 使用 X-Frame-Options (DENY or SAMEORIGIN) to prevent clickjacking.
   • Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) to restrict resource loading domains.
   • Configure Referrer-Policy for controlled referrer data disclosure.
2. Follow Principle of Least Privilege:
   • Limit admin access, avoid shared accounts, and segregate duties.
3. Deploy WAFs with WordPress Awareness:
   • Benefit from advanced inspection, origin enforcement, and rate limiting at the web application layer.
4. Conduct Regular Security Audits:
   • Periodically review plugin/theme inventory and remove unused software.
   • Stay subscribed to vulnerability intelligence and apply virtual patches immediately.

Developer Example: Secure Settings Update Handler with Nonce and Capability Checks

<?php
// Hook for secure admin settings save
add_action( 'admin_post_my_plugin_save_settings', 'my_plugin_save_settings' );

function my_plugin_save_settings() {
    // Verify nonce from submitted form
    if ( ! isset( $_POST['my_plugin_nonce'] ) || ! check_admin_referer( 'my_plugin_settings_action', 'my_plugin_nonce' ) ) {
        wp_die( 'Security check failed', 'Error', array( 'response' => 403 ) );
    }

    // Verify user capabilities
    if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
        wp_die( 'Insufficient permissions', 'Error', array( 'response' => 403 ) );
    }

    // Sanitize and save settings
    $new_setting = isset( $_POST['my_setting'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( wp_unslash( $_POST['my_setting'] ) ) : '';
    update_option( 'my_plugin_setting_key', $new_setting );

    // Redirect back with notice
    wp_safe_redirect( add_query_arg( array( 'page' => 'my_plugin_page', 'updated' => 'true' ), admin_url( 'options-general.php' ) ) );
    exit;
}
?>

Sample WAF Rule Logic for Managed-WP and Site Admins

• Rule A: Block POST requests to /wp-admin/ with external or missing referers.
• Rule B: For AJAX POSTs to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php, require X-Requested-With: XMLHttpRequest header.
• Rule C: Block POST requests containing plugin-specific POST parameters from outside trusted origins.

Implement these rules with monitoring and tuning to reduce false positives.

Key Communication Points for Site Operators

• Notify all relevant parties about the vulnerability and remediation status.
• If managing multiple clients or sites, automate virtual patches via your hosting WAF platform to protect all endpoints.
• Maintain a record of inventory checks, plugin deactivations, virtual patches applied, and audit operations.

Re-Enabling the Plugin

Only reactivate the Comment Info Detector plugin after confirmation of an official security fix or after manual code review verifies implementation of nonce, capability, and sanitization safeguards.

If reactivation is necessary beforehand, continue to restrict admin access and enforce WAF protections to minimize exposure.

The Importance of WAF and Virtual Patching in WordPress Security

Large WordPress ecosystems contend with numerous themes, plugins, and customizations, which sometimes delay patch deployments. Managed-WP’s WordPress-aware WAF offers a vital safeguard by intercepting and blocking exploit attempts at the perimeter, effectively narrowing the vulnerability exposure window and supporting your remediation plan.

Our virtual patching approach specializes in:

• Blocking known attack patterns and payloads,
• Enforcing strict origin validation for admin requests,
• Rate-limiting suspicious POST activity,
• Deploying targeted temporary rules for new CVEs.

Post-Compromise Incident Response

1. Site Isolation: Place the site in maintenance mode or offline to halt exploitation.
2. Session Revocation: Log out all admin sessions and enforce mandatory password resets.
3. 恶意软件扫描： Conduct thorough scanning for malicious files and unauthorized scheduled tasks.
4. Backup Restoration: Revert to clean backups created before any signs of compromise.
5. Reapply Security Controls: Update plugins, enforce WAF rules, rotate credentials, and monitor ongoing activity.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Should I immediately remove the Comment Info Detector plugin?
A: If you do not require the plugin, removal is the safest option. Otherwise, disable or heavily restrict it until an official update is released or mitigations are fully implemented.

Q: Can unauthenticated attackers exploit this CSRF vulnerability?
A: No. CSRF exploits require a victim with an active, authenticated session—typically an admin—to unknowingly trigger the attack.

Q: Will deactivating the plugin disrupt my site’s comment functionality?
A: It depends on your use case. Always test changes in a staging environment or maintain backups before making modifications.

Q: What if I cannot restrict admin access by IP?
A: Enforce two-factor authentication, implement a WAF with virtual patches, maintain strong password policies, and monitor logs vigilantly.

Developer Checklist for Auditing Other Plugins

• Identify form handlers or admin_post hooks missing nonce verification.
• Ensure all REST API routes have proper permission_callback checks.
• Confirm all state-changing actions require relevant user capabilities via 当前用户可以（）.
• Create tests simulating requests without nonces to confirm rejection.

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最后的想法

The CVE-2025-10311 vulnerability in the Comment Info Detector plugin underscores how even smaller WordPress utilities can introduce significant security risks if best practices are neglected. Fortunately, CSRF vulnerabilities are fully preventable through basic server-side validation measures.

Critical steps now include swift detection, perimeter hardening with WAF or server rules, and a measured plan to patch or replace affected software. Managed-WP is committed to assisting site owners by providing targeted virtual patching and expert guidance during this critical window.

Remember: attackers will exploit the gap between disclosure and remediation. Taking proactive steps today reduces your risk tomorrow.

— Managed-WP Security Experts