CVE-2025-12416
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe Pagerank Tools plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Cross-Site Request Forgery in all versions up to, and including, 1.1.5. This is due to missing nonce validation on the pr_save_settings() function and insufficient input sanitization. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious web scripts via a forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link. The injected scripts will execute whenever a user accesses the plugin's settings page.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe Pagerank Tools WordPress plugin fails to validate nonces on the pr_save_settings() function, allowing attackers to forge requests from authenticated administrators. Combined with insufficient input sanitization, this enables stored XSS where malicious scripts inject into plugin settings and execute whenever users access the settings page.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Pagerank Tools plugin is installedIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Pagerank Tools' or search for it. Alternatively, check /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder named 'pagerank-tools' or similar.Affected if The plugin is present and active in the WordPress installation
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Identify the installed plugin versionIn Plugins list, click on the plugin name or view the plugin main file header to read the Version field. Compare this version number to any known patched version.Affected if Running a version that lacks the nonce validation and input sanitization fixes
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Check for unauthorized script injections in plugin settingsNavigate to the plugin settings page (usually under Settings > Pagerank Tools or similar). View the page source or inspect form fields for unexpected <script> tags, event handlers like onload/onerror, or encoded JavaScript.Affected if Malicious scripts appear in any settings fields or the page exhibits unexpected behavior when loaded
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Review plugin database options for persisted malicious contentQuery the WordPress options table (wp_options) for pagerank_related option_names. Use: SELECT * FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE '%pagerank%'; Examine any stored values for suspicious HTML or JavaScript.Affected if Stored option values contain script tags, iframe src attributes, or other XSS vectors
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Audit admin user accounts for compromiseGo to Users > All Users in WordPress admin. Verify all administrator accounts were created legitimately. Check for unfamiliar admin users or recent account modifications.Affected if Unexpected admin accounts exist or legitimate admin accounts show unauthorized changes
A user is affected if the Pagerank Tools plugin is installed, the installed version predates the patched release, and malicious scripts are present in plugin settings or the options database.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpdate to patched version when available; review and sanitize existing plugin settings for injected content; consider disabling plugin until fix is available if not essential.
Pagerank Tools version 1.1.6 or later
- Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
- Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- Locate the Pagerank Tools plugin
- Check if an update to version 1.1.6 or higher is available
- If update available, click 'Update Now' to install the patched version
- If no update is available via the WordPress admin, manually download the patched version from the WordPress plugin repository at plugins.trac.wordpress.org and upload it via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-12416 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-12416 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data