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Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)Weakness · CWE-352

CVE-2025-12821

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-19
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 · unedited
The NewsBlogger theme for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in versions 0.2.5.6 to 0.2.6.1. This is due to missing or incorrect nonce validation on the newsblogger_install_and_activate_plugin() function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to upload arbitrary files and achieve remote code execution via a forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link. This is due to a reverted fix of CVE-2025-1305.

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 confidence

The NewsBlogger WordPress theme (versions 0.2.5.6-0.2.6.1) lacks proper nonce validation in the newsblogger_install_and_activate_plugin() function, allowing unauthenticated attackers to forge administrative requests. By tricking site administrators into clicking malicious links, attackers can install and activate arbitrary plugins, leading to arbitrary file upload and remote code execution. This vulnerability is a reverted fix of CVE-2025-1305.

MitigationUpdate the NewsBlogger theme to the latest version immediately, or remove the theme entirely if not in use. Administrators should avoid clicking untrusted links to prevent CSRF exploitation.

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify if NewsBlogger theme is installed
    Check the WordPress themes directory at wp-content/themes/ for a folder named 'newsblogger' or inspect the themes list via WordPress admin under Appearance > Themes.
    Affected if The NewsBlogger theme folder exists in the themes directory.
  2. Determine the installed NewsBlogger version
    Open the theme's style.css file (wp-content/themes/newsblogger/style.css) and locate the 'Version:' header in the CSS comment block at the top, or check theme.json if present.
    Affected if The version listed is 0.2.5.6, 0.2.5.7, 0.2.5.8, 0.2.5.9, 0.2.6.0, or 0.2.6.1.
  3. Check for the vulnerable function in theme code
    Search theme PHP files (particularly functions.php) for the string 'newsblogger_install_and_activate_plugin' using grep or a file search tool.
    Affected if The function exists in the theme code, indicating the vulnerable code path is present.
  4. Inspect nonce validation in the vulnerable function
    Examine the newsblogger_install_and_activate_plugin function code to verify if it lacks wp_nonce_field() or wp_verify_nonce() calls, or uses an incorrect nonce action.
    Affected if The function does not properly validate a nonce, allowing forged requests.
  5. Check if the theme allows plugin installation/activation
    Review the function to confirm it calls plugins_api(), wp_install_plugin(), or other plugin installation methods without admin-only capability checks.
    Affected if The function includes plugin installation/activation capabilities accessible via forged admin requests.

A user is affected if the NewsBlogger theme versions 0.2.5.6 through 0.2.6.1 are installed and the vulnerable newsblogger_install_and_activate_plugin() function exists without proper nonce validation.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the NewsBlogger theme to the latest version immediately, or remove the theme entirely if not in use. Administrators should avoid clicking untrusted links to prevent CSRF exploitation.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-12821 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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