CVE-2025-12650
📋 TL;DR
The Simple Post Listing WordPress plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability in the 'class_name' parameter of its postlist shortcode. Authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher can inject malicious scripts that execute when users interact with affected pages. This affects all WordPress sites using plugin versions up to and including 0.2.
💻 Affected Systems
- Simple Post Listing 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 perform actions on behalf of authenticated users.
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 isolated script execution without data exfiltration.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is technically simple once access is obtained.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 0.3 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/simple-post-listing/tags/0.3/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find Simple Post Listing plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If no update appears, manually download version 0.3+ from WordPress repository and replace plugin files.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate simple-post-listing
Restrict User Roles
linuxTemporarily remove contributor-level access from untrusted users
wp user list --role=contributor --field=ID | xargs wp user set-role subscriber
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution
- Regularly audit user accounts and remove unnecessary contributor-level access
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Simple Post Listing. If version is 0.2 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get simple-post-listing --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify plugin version shows 0.3 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual post/page edits by contributor-level users
- Suspicious shortcode modifications containing script tags
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected external script loads from WordPress pages
- Suspicious outbound connections from user browsers
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("postlist" OR "class_name") AND ("script" OR "javascript" OR "onclick")