CVE-2025-13311
📋 TL;DR
The Just Highlight WordPress plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability in its 'Highlight Color' setting. Authenticated attackers with administrator privileges can inject malicious scripts that execute when users visit the plugin settings page. This affects all WordPress sites using Just Highlight version 1.0.3 or earlier.
💻 Affected Systems
- Just Highlight 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
Administrator account compromise leading to full site takeover, data theft, or malware distribution to visitors.
Likely Case
Session hijacking, credential theft, or defacement of the WordPress admin interface.
If Mitigated
Limited to plugin settings page only, requiring admin credentials for exploitation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires administrator-level WordPress credentials. The vulnerability is in the plugin's settings interface.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check WordPress plugin repository for updates beyond 1.0.3
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/just-highlight/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find Just Highlight plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. If no update available, deactivate and delete the plugin.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Just Highlight Plugin
allTemporarily deactivate the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate just-highlight
Remove Administrator Access
allLimit administrator accounts to trusted users only
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove the Just Highlight plugin completely from your WordPress installation
- Implement strict access controls and monitoring for administrator accounts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Just Highlight → Version number. If version is 1.0.3 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get just-highlight --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After update, verify plugin version is higher than 1.0.3. Test the Highlight Color setting with basic XSS payloads like <script>alert('test')</script> to ensure sanitization works.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual administrator account activity
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful admin login
- Changes to Just Highlight plugin settings
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to /wp-admin/admin.php?page=just-highlight with suspicious parameters
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("just-highlight" OR "page=just-highlight") AND ("<script>" OR "javascript:" OR "onerror=" OR "onload=")