CVE-2025-11197
📋 TL;DR
The Draft List WordPress plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability in versions up to 2.6.1 that allows authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher to inject malicious scripts via the 'drafts' shortcode. These scripts execute whenever users view compromised pages, potentially affecting all visitors to vulnerable WordPress sites.
💻 Affected Systems
- Draft List WordPress Plugin
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could steal admin credentials, redirect users to malicious sites, deface websites, or install backdoors for persistent access.
Likely Case
Attackers with contributor access inject malicious scripts to steal session cookies or redirect users to phishing pages.
If Mitigated
With proper user access controls and content security policies, impact is limited to script execution in specific contexts.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires authenticated access (contributor or higher) and ability to create/edit posts with shortcodes.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.6.2
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Draft List' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 2.6.2+ from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Draft List Plugin
WordPressTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched.
wp plugin deactivate draft-list
Implement Content Security Policy
allAdd CSP headers to restrict script execution sources.
Add to .htaccess: Header set Content-Security-Policy "script-src 'self'"
Or use WordPress CSP plugin
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict contributor-level access to trusted users only
- Implement web application firewall with XSS protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Draft List version. If version is 2.6.1 or lower, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=draft-list --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Draft List plugin version is 2.6.2 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual post/page edits by contributor users
- Suspicious shortcode usage in content
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful contributor login
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections to suspicious domains from WordPress pages
- Unexpected script tags in page responses
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (event="post_edit" OR event="page_edit") AND user_role="contributor" AND content CONTAINS "[drafts"🔗 References
- https://github.com/dartiss/draft-list/pull/81/files
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3376385%40simple-draft-list&new=3376385%40simple-draft-list&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/4711e3d5-b70c-413e-97e7-6d2e93e8217e?source=cve
