CVE-2025-28950
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 · uneditedCross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in David Shabtai Post Author post-author allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Post Author: from n/a through <= 1.1.1.
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 · moderate confidenceCSRF vulnerability in the Post Author WordPress plugin allows attackers to trick authenticated administrators into performing unintended actions that inject malicious scripts (Stored XSS) into posts. The lack of anti-CSRF tokens in the plugin's forms or AJAX handlers enables this attack vector.
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
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
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.
-
Verify Post Author plugin is installedIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and search for 'Post Author'. Confirm it appears in the list and is activated.Affected if The plugin is installed and active in WordPress.
-
Check installed version numberIn Plugins list, click on the plugin name or view details to find the version number. Compare against the version that includes CSRF protection (contact vendor or check changelog for version with anti-CSRF tokens added).Affected if The installed version predates the security update that adds CSRF token validation.
-
Inspect plugin forms for CSRF tokensNavigate to plugin settings or any form created by Post Author (e.g., post author assignment form). View page source and search for a nonce field or token input (common names: wp_nonce, _wpnonce, csrf_token).Affected if Forms lack a nonce or CSRF token field, meaning the plugin is vulnerable.
-
Check AJAX handlers for CSRF protectionUse browser dev tools Network tab to capture an AJAX request from the plugin. Inspect request headers or payload for nonce verification. Alternatively, examine plugin PHP files for 'check_ajax_referer' or 'wp_verify_nonce' calls in AJAX handlers.Affected if AJAX handlers do not verify nonce tokens on requests.
-
Audit posts for injected malicious scriptsIn WordPress admin, go to Posts > All Posts. Review recent posts, especially those edited by administrators. Check HTML source of post content for unexpected <script> tags, <iframe> elements, or inline event handlers (onload, onerror, onclick).Affected if Unexpected malicious scripts are found embedded in post content.
You are affected if the Post Author plugin is active, lacks CSRF token validation in forms/AJAX handlers, and shows signs of unauthorized script injection in posts.
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 Post Author plugin to the latest version when available; in the interim, ensure administrators are trained to avoid clicking untrusted links and consider using a web application firewall.
Post Author version 1.1.2 or later
- 1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
- 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- 3. Locate the 'Post Author' plugin by David Shabtai
- 4. Check if an update is available for the plugin
- 5. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
- 6. After updating, verify the plugin is running on version 1.1.2 or higher
- 7. Test the plugin functionality to ensure the update did not break existing features
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-28950 — 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-2025-28950 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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