Author: Dmitrii I

OceanWP is a widely adopted WordPress theme, boasting over 50,000 active installations thanks to its performance-optimized code and extensive customization options. To further extend its capabilities, it relies on a companion plugin, Ocean Extra, which adds demo import, custom widgets, and additional theme settings. However, a critical vulnerability—CVE-2025-8891—has been discovered: an unauthenticated Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) flaw that allows any visitor to invoke the oceanwp_notice_button_click AJAX action. This function, when called, automatically installs or activates the Ocean Extra plugin, effectively granting low-privileged users the ability to install new code on the site without any consent or proper authorization checks.

The Zakra WordPress theme, installed on over 50,000 websites, provides a one-click demo import feature that streamlines site setup by loading predefined layouts, widgets, and content. However, a critical vulnerability—CVE-2025-8595—allows even low-privileged Subscriber+ users to invoke the demo import process via the import_button AJAX action. By exploiting a publicly exposed nonce, attackers can import arbitrary demo content, modify site configuration, or trigger long-running operations, thereby disrupting the site or preparing for further privilege escalations.

Quiz And Survey Master (QSM) is a powerful WordPress plugin used to design and deploy quizzes, surveys, and assessments, with over 50,000 active installations. Despite its extensive use for educational and marketing purposes, a critical vulnerability—CVE-2025-6790—has been identified that permits unauthenticated attackers to perform Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) against its AJAX endpoint for quiz template creation. This flaw allows an attacker to inject arbitrary templates into the system, potentially enabling further administrative actions or content hijacking without requiring any valid credentials.

Shortcodes Ultimate is a ubiquitous WordPress plugin used by over 500,000 websites to effortlessly embed rich content—galleries, tabs, sliders—through simple shortcode syntax. While its drag-and-drop gallery builder and extensive shortcode library enhance user experience, a serious security flaw—CVE-2025-8015—has been discovered. This vulnerability permits an Author+ user to inject persistent JavaScript into gallery items (via image links or titles), which executes when administrators or other privileged users interact with the gallery. Ultimately, attackers can escalate privileges, create admin backdoors, and fully compromise the site.

The Shortcodes Ultimate plugin is a widely used WordPress toolkit, enabling site owners to add rich content elements—buttons, tabs, sliders—via simple shortcodes. With over 500,000 active installations, it is a go-to plugin for visual enhancements. However, a critical vulnerability, CVE-2025-7369, allows unauthenticated attackers to exploit a lack of CSRF protection on the plugin’s AJAX preview endpoint. By submitting a specially crafted form, an attacker can store malicious JavaScript in the database that executes in the administrator’s browser, opening the door to a full account-takeover backdoor.