CVE-2025-11859
📋 TL;DR
This stored XSS vulnerability in the PayPal Donation Shortcode WordPress plugin allows authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher to inject malicious scripts into website pages. When users visit compromised pages, the scripts execute in their browsers, potentially stealing credentials or performing unauthorized actions. All WordPress sites using this plugin version 0.1 or earlier are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- PayPal Donation Shortcode 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 administrator credentials, deface websites, redirect users to malicious sites, or install backdoors for persistent access.
Likely Case
Attackers with contributor accounts inject malicious scripts to steal user session cookies or credentials, potentially compromising user accounts.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output escaping, the risk is limited to minor content manipulation with no significant security impact.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is technically simple once an attacker has contributor privileges.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Not available
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/paypal-donation-shortcode/tags/0.1/paypal-donation-shortcode.php#L23
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Remove the PayPal Donation Shortcode plugin from your WordPress installation. 2. Delete the plugin files from /wp-content/plugins/paypal-donation-shortcode/. 3. Consider alternative donation plugins with proper security practices.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict User Roles
allLimit contributor-level access to trusted users only and implement strong authentication controls.
Input Validation Filter
allAdd custom WordPress filters to sanitize 'title' and 'text' parameters before processing.
add_filter('preprocess_shortcode_title', 'esc_html');
add_filter('preprocess_shortcode_text', 'esc_html');
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable the PayPal Donation Shortcode plugin immediately
- Implement web application firewall rules to block XSS payloads in shortcode parameters
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > PayPal Donation Shortcode. If version is 0.1 or earlier, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name='paypal-donation-shortcode' --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify the plugin is completely removed from /wp-content/plugins/ directory and no longer appears in WordPress admin.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual shortcode modifications by contributor-level users
- Multiple failed authentication attempts followed by successful contributor login
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing suspicious script tags in 'title' or 'text' parameters
- Unexpected outbound connections from WordPress pages
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("paypal-donation-shortcode" OR "[paypal") AND ("<script>" OR "javascript:" OR "onerror=")