📄 Description (English)
The Advanced Contact form 7 DB plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in all versions up to, and including, 2.0.9. This is due to missing or incorrect nonce validation on the 'vsz_cf7_save_setting_callback' function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to delete form entry via a forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
The Advanced Contact Form 7 DB WordPress plugin (versions ≤2.0.9) contains a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the settings callback function due to missing nonce validation. Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this to delete form entries by tricking administrators into clicking malicious links. With no patch currently available and no active exploit in the wild, this presents a medium-risk threat requiring immediate compensating controls.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: May 26, 2026 10:20
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
Saudi organizations using WordPress with Advanced Contact Form 7 DB plugin are at risk, particularly: government agencies and municipalities collecting citizen data through contact forms, banking sector customer service portals, healthcare providers managing patient inquiries, e-commerce platforms under CITC oversight, and telecommunications companies. The vulnerability allows deletion of sensitive form submissions containing personal data, potentially violating PDPL (Personal Data Protection Law) compliance requirements and impacting business continuity. Government entities under NCA cybersecurity framework are particularly exposed if using this plugin for public service delivery.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government & Public Administration
Banking & Financial Services
Healthcare & Medical Services
E-Commerce & Retail
Telecommunications
Education
Energy & Utilities
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1189 - Drive-by Compromise: Malicious link delivery to administrators
T1566.002 - Phishing: Spearphishing Link containing CSRF payload
T1548.002 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Exploit admin privileges via CSRF
T1531 - Account Access Removal: Delete form entries via CSRF
T1562.008 - Indicator Removal: Delete evidence of unauthorized access
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
5.8
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Audit all WordPress installations for Advanced Contact Form 7 DB plugin presence and version (≤2.0.9)
2. Disable the plugin immediately if not critical to operations, or restrict admin access to trusted networks only
3. Review form entry logs for unauthorized deletions in the past 30 days
4. Notify administrators to avoid clicking suspicious links from untrusted sources
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (until patch available):
5. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect CSRF patterns targeting /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with vsz_cf7_save_setting_callback parameter
6. Enable WordPress security plugins (Wordfence, Sucuri) with CSRF protection modules
7. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict cross-origin requests
8. Configure WordPress to require re-authentication for sensitive admin actions
9. Enable detailed audit logging for form entry modifications
10. Restrict wp-admin access by IP whitelist to known administrator locations
DETECTION RULES:
- Monitor POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php containing 'vsz_cf7_save_setting_callback' without valid nonce tokens
- Alert on form entry deletion events without corresponding admin user session
- Track referrer headers from external domains accessing admin functions
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تدقيق جميع تثبيتات WordPress للتحقق من وجود مكون Advanced Contact Form 7 DB والإصدار (≤2.0.9)
2. تعطيل المكون فوراً إذا لم يكن حرجاً للعمليات، أو تقييد وصول المسؤول للشبكات الموثوقة فقط
3. مراجعة سجلات إدخالات النموذج للحذف غير المصرح به في آخر 30 يوماً
4. إخطار المسؤولين بتجنب النقر على الروابط المريبة من مصادر غير موثوقة
الضوابط التعويضية (حتى توفر التصحيح):
5. تنفيذ قواعد جدار حماية تطبيقات الويب (WAF) للكشف عن أنماط CSRF التي تستهدف /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php مع معامل vsz_cf7_save_setting_callback
6. تفعيل مكونات أمان WordPress (Wordfence, Sucuri) مع وحدات حماية CSRF
7. تنفيذ رؤوس Content Security Policy (CSP) لتقييد الطلبات عبر الأصول
8. تكوين WordPress لطلب إعادة المصادقة للإجراءات الحساسة للمسؤول
9. تفعيل تسجيل التدقيق التفصيلي لتعديلات إدخالات النموذج
10. تقييد وصول wp-admin حسب قائمة بيضاء IP للمواقع المعروفة للمسؤول
قواعد الكشف:
- مراقبة طلبات POST إلى /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php التي تحتوي على 'vsz_cf7_save_setting_callback' بدون رموز nonce صحيحة
- تنبيه أحداث حذف إدخالات النموذج بدون جلسة مستخدم مسؤول مقابلة
- تتبع رؤوس المحيل من النطاقات الخارجية التي تصل إلى وظائف المسؤول
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - Access Control: Implement authentication and authorization controls
ECC 2024 A.5.2.1 - User Access Management: Restrict administrative access
ECC 2024 A.8.2.1 - User Awareness: Train administrators on CSRF risks
ECC 2024 A.12.6.1 - Management of Technical Vulnerabilities: Identify and remediate CSRF vulnerabilities
🔵 SAMA CSF
Governance & Risk Management: Identify and assess CSRF risks in web applications
Information Security: Implement CSRF protection mechanisms (nonce validation, SameSite cookies)
Operational Resilience: Maintain audit logs of form entry modifications
Third-Party Risk: Assess plugin security posture and vendor patch timelines
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.5.15 - Access Control: Implement controls to prevent unauthorized actions
A.6.1.2 - Information Security Policies: Define CSRF protection requirements
A.8.1.1 - User Endpoint Devices: Educate users on CSRF attack vectors
A.12.6.1 - Management of Technical Vulnerabilities: Identify and remediate CSRF flaws
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
Requirement 6.5.9 - Broken Authentication: Implement CSRF tokens for state-changing operations
Requirement 6.2 - Security Patches: Apply vendor patches when available
Requirement 10.2 - Logging: Log all administrative actions on cardholder data
🔗 References & Sources 3
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https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/advanced-cf7-db/tags/2.0.9/admin/class-advan...
security@wordfence.com
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3497481/advanced-cf7-db
security@wordfence.com
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/88097744-d2f5-4ae5-aa71-0f4a0...
security@wordfence.com