CVE-2025-10188: CSRF to Arbitrary Directory Deletion in The Hack Repair Guy’s Plugin Archiver — What WordPress Site Owners Must Do Now

Introduction — why this matters

WordPress plugins extend functionality but also increase attack surface. CVE-2025-10188 permits an attacker to trigger directory deletion under /wp-content via CSRF, allowing deletion of uploads, themes or plugin folders. Even with a medium/low CVSS, the operational impact on a content site or agency-managed portfolio can be severe: missing media, broken themes, disabled plugins and costly recovery work.

What happened (high-level)

• Vulnerable plugin: The Hack Repair Guy’s Plugin Archiver
• Affected versions: ≤ 2.0.4
• Fixed in: 3.1.1
• Vulnerability type: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) enabling arbitrary directory deletion under /wp-content
• CVE: CVE-2025-10188
• Discoverer: credited to a security researcher (published 16 Sep 2025)

The root cause: a deletion action exposed by the plugin performed filesystem delete operations without adequate request validation (nonces, capability checks) or path canonicalisation.

Technical analysis — how a CSRF leads to directory deletion

CSRF leverages the fact that a victim’s browser automatically sends authentication cookies. Without nonce validation or capability checks, a crafted request can cause destructive actions in the context of an authenticated administrator. In this case, the vulnerable endpoint accepted a directory path under wp-content and performed deletion without verifying the request origin or user privileges, enabling deletion through a forged request.

Common plugin mistakes that enable this class of bug

• Missing nonce verification (no wp_verify_nonce / check_admin_referer).
• Missing or insufficient capability checks (current_user_can(...)).
• Exposing destructive file operations via unauthenticated AJAX or unsecured admin screens.
• Trusting user-supplied paths without sanitisation or canonicalisation, enabling traversal or out-of-tree deletion.

Why the CVSS score can understate real-world risk

CVSS gives a baseline but not site-specific consequences. Sites with valuable media, bespoke themes or custom plugins may suffer outsized damage from directory deletion. Many sites lack immutable backups of wp-content, increasing recovery complexity. Mass-scanners can also amplify impact.

Exploitability & attack scenarios (no exploit code provided)

• Targeted attack: trick an admin into visiting a malicious page that triggers a hidden form or script pointing at the vulnerable endpoint.
• Mass exploitation: automated pages or bots can attempt the deletion action across many sites.
• Post-exploitation: attackers may delete security plugins or logs to hinder detection and recovery.

No exploit code is provided here — the intent is to explain mechanics and defensive steps.

Immediate steps for site owners (containment)

Follow these steps in order if you run WordPress and use this plugin.

1) Update the plugin (fastest fix)

Update The Hack Repair Guy’s Plugin Archiver to version 3.1.1 or later as soon as possible. This removes the vulnerable code path. If you must test first, do so in staging, but prioritise production security if you cannot stage.

2) If you cannot update immediately: disable the plugin

Deactivate the plugin from the Plugins screen, or rename its folder via FTP/SFTP (wp-content/plugins/plugin-archiver) to prevent execution of vulnerable code. This may temporarily remove functionality but halts further remote deletion via this bug.

3) Apply short-term WAF / server rules

If you have a Web Application Firewall, reverse proxy or host-level filtering, block or rate-limit requests to the plugin’s administrative endpoints and POST actions involved in deletion. If you do not know the exact endpoint, consider restricting POSTs to admin endpoints from untrusted origins or temporarily limiting access to administrative pages by IP.

4) Protect wp-content (permissions and backups)

Confirm file permissions are restrictive (typical directories 755 and files 644) and that the webserver user does not have unnecessarily broad delete privileges. Make or verify recent backups of wp-content immediately — if directories were removed already, you need backups to restore.

5) Scan the site

Run file integrity checks and malware scans; focus on wp-content/plugins, wp-content/themes and wp-content/uploads. Check access logs for POSTs to plugin endpoints around the relevant dates and look for unusual referers or IPs.

6) Rotate credentials and secrets

If you find evidence of compromise, rotate admin passwords, API keys and service credentials. Enforce two-factor authentication (2FA) for administrative accounts where possible.

7) Recovery and restore

If directories were deleted and you have a clean backup, restore the affected folders. After restore, update the plugin to 3.1.1 before re-enabling it. If no backup exists, investigate host snapshots or professional recovery services.

How to detect exploitation — key indicators

• Missing plugin/theme directories or corrupted files under wp-content/plugins and wp-content/themes.
• Missing uploads in wp-content/uploads (images, media assets).
• Unexpected 404s for previously reachable media or asset URLs.
• Admin logs showing POST requests to plugin endpoints from suspicious referers or IPs.
• Unexplained 500 errors after deletion operations (broken plugins/themes).
• Timestamps on files indicating deletion or modification at unusual times.

Developer guidance — prevent this class of bug

If you maintain a plugin that performs file operations, adopt these secure coding practices:

1) Enforce nonces and capability checks

Generate nonces in forms (wp_nonce_field()) and validate with check_admin_referer() or wp_verify_nonce(). Check user capabilities (current_user_can()) before file operations.

2) Limit endpoints to authenticated/admin context

Do not expose destructive operations via unauthenticated endpoints. Ensure AJAX actions that modify the filesystem require authentication and capability checks.

3) Never trust user-supplied paths

Canonicalise and sanitise filesystem paths. Use realpath() or normalize the path and verify it remains inside an allowed base (e.g. WP_CONTENT_DIR). Reject traversal components or use a strict allowlist of folder names.

4) Use WordPress APIs safely

Prefer the WordPress Filesystem API and add checks rather than using direct unlink/rmdir on user-provided input.

5) Principle of least privilege

Require the minimum capability necessary for destructive actions and consider multi-step confirmations for dangerous operations from the admin UI.

6) Logging & audit trail

Log admin actions that change filesystem state (username, IP, timestamp, action) for incident analysis.

7) Testing & security review

Unit test file handling, perform security-focused code reviews and consider third-party audits for code that modifies filesystem content.

Secure server-side pseudo-check (guidance)

<?php
// Conceptual example — do not copy verbatim
if ( ! is_admin() ) {
    wp_die( 'Unauthorized' );
}

if ( ! current_user_can( 'activate_plugins' ) ) {
    wp_die( 'Insufficient privileges' );
}

if ( ! isset( $_POST['my_nonce'] ) || ! wp_verify_nonce( $_POST['my_nonce'], 'my_plugin_delete' ) ) {
    wp_die( 'Invalid request' );
}

$requested = sanitize_text_field( $_POST['dir'] );
$base = wp_normalize_path( WP_CONTENT_DIR );
$target = wp_normalize_path( $base . '/' . ltrim( $requested, '/' ) );

if ( strpos( $target, $base ) !== 0 ) {
    wp_die( 'Invalid path' );
}

// proceed with safe, logged deletion using WP Filesystem API
?>

Virtual patching and temporary protections

Host-level blocking, reverse-proxy rules or WAF signatures can provide short-term protection while you patch. These measures buy time but are not a substitute for updating the plugin. If you apply temporary server rules, document them and remove them after the site is patched and verified.

Recovery checklist — after confirmed deletion or compromise

1. Isolate the site: enable maintenance mode or block public traffic if needed to prevent further damage.
2. Preserve evidence: take a full server snapshot and copy logs before making changes.
3. Restore files: recover deleted directories from backups or host snapshots.
4. Update plugin: after restoration, update to 3.1.1 or later.
5. Scan for backdoors: search for PHP files in upload directories, suspicious cron jobs and unexpected admin accounts.
6. Rotate credentials: update admin, FTP/SFTP, database and API credentials if compromise is suspected.
7. Monitor: increase alerting for the next 30 days for anomalous admin activity or file changes.

Hardening and long-term prevention

• Keep WordPress core, themes and plugins updated. Prioritise security updates.
• Enforce 2FA and strong passwords for admin users.
• Limit the number of high-privilege users and apply least privilege.
• Use immutable or offsite backups with versioning to tolerate accidental or malicious deletions.
• Restrict direct access to admin endpoints by IP where operationally feasible.
• Regularly audit plugin code before enabling on production sites.

Practical advice for hosts and agencies

• Maintain automated nightly backups and retain multiple historical versions.
• Implement host-side filesystem snapshots accessible for quick restores.
• Monitor for mass exploit attempts across customer accounts and block malicious IP ranges at the network layer.
• Provide customers with an incident response playbook and clear contact paths for emergency restores.

Communication to plugin authors (brief)

If you are the plugin author or maintainer:

• Thank you for addressing the issue in 3.1.1. Ensure stricter testing for file-operation endpoints going forward.
• Add unit and integration tests covering path canonicalisation and enforce nonces/capability checks for all state-modifying endpoints.
• Consider a disclosure/co-ordination policy to streamline future fixes.

FAQ (common questions)

Q: My site shows missing files after the vulnerability was disclosed — what do I do first?

A: Stop further changes, take a server snapshot, and restore wp-content from a clean backup. Then update the plugin to 3.1.1. If you lack backups, contact your host and a security professional immediately.

Q: Will the vulnerability let attackers run arbitrary code?

A: This report concerns directory deletion. Deletion alone is not direct remote code execution, but removing security plugins or logs can facilitate further attacks. Treat the incident as potentially enabling additional compromise and investigate thoroughly.

Q: If I install a WAF rule, can I skip updating the plugin?

A: No. A WAF rule can reduce immediate risk but is a temporary measure. The permanent fix is to update the plugin to 3.1.1 or later.

Expert summary (Hong Kong security perspective)

Respond quickly: update the plugin, validate backups and inspect logs. For operations teams in Hong Kong or the wider APAC region managing multiple sites, prioritise updates for public-facing and content-rich installations first. Use host snapshots and immutable backup policies to shorten recovery time, and ensure incident playbooks are in place. Security is layered — developers must avoid dangerous file operations without checks, operators must keep reliable backups, and hosts should provide quick restore options.

If you need assistance

If you require help, contact your host, a trusted security professional or an incident response provider. Preserve evidence, document actions taken, and restore from verified backups where available.

References

• CVE-2025-10188 — public identifier for this vulnerability
• Plugin release notes — update to version 3.1.1 contains the fix (apply immediately)

Stay vigilant,

Hong Kong Security Expert