CVE-2025-13667
📋 TL;DR
The WP Recipe Manager WordPress plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability in the 'Skill Level' field that allows authenticated attackers with Contributor access or higher to inject malicious scripts. These scripts execute when users view affected recipe pages, potentially compromising visitor browsers. All WordPress sites using WP Recipe Manager version 1.0.0 or earlier are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- WP Recipe Manager 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 malware on visitor browsers.
Likely Case
Attackers with contributor accounts inject malicious scripts to steal session cookies or redirect users to phishing pages.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output escaping, no script execution occurs and user input is safely displayed.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access at Contributor level or higher. The vulnerability is in a publicly accessible input field with insufficient sanitization.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version after 1.0.0 (check WordPress plugin repository for latest)
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-recipe-manager/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find WP Recipe Manager. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. If no update available, deactivate and delete the plugin.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Skill Level Field
allRemove or disable the vulnerable Skill Level input field from recipe forms
Edit plugin files to comment out Skill Level field functionality
Restrict User Roles
allLimit contributor-level access to trusted users only
Use WordPress role management plugins to restrict contributor capabilities
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Deactivate and remove the WP Recipe Manager plugin immediately
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block XSS payloads in Skill Level parameter
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for WP Recipe Manager version 1.0.0 or earlierCheck Version:
wp plugin list --name='wp-recipe-manager' --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is higher than 1.0.0 or plugin is removed📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to recipe submission endpoints with script tags in parameters
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by recipe creation/modification
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing <script> tags in Skill Level parameter
- Unusual outbound connections from recipe pages
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("wp-recipe-manager" OR "skill_level") AND ("<script>" OR "javascript:" OR "onerror=" OR "onload=")🔗 References
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-recipe-manager/tags/1.0.0/inc/libs/class.metaboxes.php#L203
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-recipe-manager/trunk/inc/libs/class.metaboxes.php#L203
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/12b14418-28f0-4786-b8f8-a637fe007b6c?source=cve
