CVE-2026-1087
CSRF Vulnerability in Guardian News Feed Plugin Allows Settings Modification
Publication date: 2026-03-07
Last updated on: 2026-03-07
Assigner: Wordfence
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| guardian | guardian_news_feed | to 1.2 (inc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-352 | The web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to modify the Guardian News Feed plugin's settings without proper authorization. Specifically, an attacker could change the Guardian API key used by the plugin.
Such unauthorized changes could disrupt the plugin's normal operation, potentially causing incorrect or malicious content to be published on the WordPress site, or could lead to misuse of the API key.
Since the attack requires tricking an administrator into performing an action (like clicking a link), it relies on social engineering but can lead to integrity issues on the affected website.
How does this vulnerability affect compliance with common standards and regulations (like GDPR, HIPAA)?:
I don't know
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
The Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress, up to and including version 1.2, is vulnerable to a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attack. This vulnerability exists because the plugin's settings update functionality lacks nonce validation, which is a security measure to verify that requests are legitimate and intended by the user.
As a result, an attacker who can trick a site administrator into clicking on a malicious link or performing a specific action can cause unauthorized changes to the plugin's settings, including modifying the Guardian API key.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'This vulnerability involves missing nonce validation on the settings update functionality of the Guardian News Feed WordPress plugin (up to version 1.2), allowing unauthenticated attackers to modify plugin settings via forged requests.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "To detect exploitation attempts on your system or network, you can monitor HTTP requests targeting the plugin's settings update endpoint, looking for suspicious POST requests that attempt to change the Guardian API key or other plugin settings without proper authentication."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Since the plugin settings page is added as a submenu under WordPress settings, the relevant URL path typically includes something like `/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=guardian-news-feed` or similar.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Suggested commands to detect suspicious activity include:'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Using web server logs (e.g., Apache or Nginx) to search for POST requests to the plugin settings page:'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "grep 'POST' /var/log/apache2/access.log | grep 'guardian-news-feed'"}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Or, if the exact URL is unknown, search for POST requests to WordPress admin pages that include parameters related to the Guardian plugin settings.'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Monitor for unexpected changes in the WordPress options database related to the Guardian API key by querying the database directly, for example:'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "SELECT option_name, option_value FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE '%guardian%';"}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Additionally, monitoring for unusual administrator activity or unexpected changes in plugin settings can help detect exploitation.'}] [1, 3]
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
To mitigate this Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerability in the Guardian News Feed plugin (up to version 1.2), immediate steps include:
- Update the plugin to a version that includes nonce validation on the settings update functionality, if such a version is available.
- If no patched version is available, temporarily disable or deactivate the Guardian News Feed plugin to prevent exploitation.
- Restrict access to the WordPress admin panel to trusted users only and ensure administrators are aware not to click on suspicious links that could trigger forged requests.
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block suspicious POST requests targeting the plugin settings page.
- Regularly monitor plugin settings and API keys for unauthorized changes.