Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A vulnerable WordPress review plugin can let an unauthenticated attacker store malicious script in site content. When visitors or administrators open an affected page, that script can run in their browser. This can damage trust, expose session or page data, and support further website compromise.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for public WordPress sites using this plugin, especially business-facing or administrator-used sites. Treat unsupported vulnerable plugins as an avoidable website compromise path.
Technical view
Rich Reviews by Starfish versions up to and including 1.7.4 lack sufficient sanitization and output escaping for the POST body update parameter, enabling stored cross-site scripting. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.2 with network access, low complexity, no privileges, and changed scope.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress sites with Rich Reviews by Starfish installed, especially versions at or below 1.7.4. The bundle's structured affected entry is incomplete, so inventory should verify plugin name and installed version directly.
Exploitation context
Wordfence reported exploitation in the wild in 2019. The provided bundle does not list CISA KEV inclusion and does not prove current active exploitation as of the CVE update date.
Researcher notes
The main uncertainty is version metadata: the narrative says <=1.7.4, while the structured affected object appears unhelpful. Keep conclusions tied to installed plugin evidence and cited vendor intelligence.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for Rich Reviews by Starfish.
- Remove or disable Rich Reviews versions up to 1.7.4.
- Check vendor or WordPress.org guidance for maintained replacement options.
- Review affected pages and reviews for injected script content.
- Apply web application firewall protections where available.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Rich Reviews by Starfish is installed on each WordPress site.
- Record installed plugin versions and compare against <= 1.7.4.
- Inspect review-related content for unexpected script or HTML injection.
- Check web logs for unauthenticated POST activity to plugin endpoints.
- Verify cleanup by reviewing rendered pages in a browser-safe environment.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-25216 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.2 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N3.92.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.2HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/db701ad3-10fd-4a40-b239-139fbc95ab61?source=cveCVE reference
- https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2019/09/rich-reviews-plugin-vulnerability-exploited-in-the-wild/CVE reference
- https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-not-supported-open-to-malware-uninstall-now/CVE reference
- https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/81bdc004-9b9c-49e2-b337-35a6d8395c5dCVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.