CVE-2025-13971
📋 TL;DR
The TWW Protein Calculator WordPress plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability in its 'Header' setting that allows authenticated administrators to inject malicious scripts. These scripts execute when users view affected pages, potentially compromising their sessions or browsers. Only WordPress multi-site installations or those with unfiltered_html disabled are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- TWW Protein Calculator 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 leads to site takeover, data theft, or malware distribution to visitors.
Likely Case
Session hijacking, credential theft, or defacement of affected pages.
If Mitigated
Limited impact due to requiring admin access and specific WordPress configurations.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires administrator-level access to WordPress, making exploitation more difficult but still dangerous if admin accounts are compromised.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.0.25 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3208498%40twwc-protein&new=3208498%40twwc-protein&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find TWW Protein Calculator. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 1.0.25+ from WordPress.org and replace plugin files.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched.
wp plugin deactivate twwc-protein
Enable unfiltered_html
allEnable unfiltered_html capability for administrators (not recommended for security).
add_filter('map_meta_cap', 'enable_unfiltered_html', 1, 3); function enable_unfiltered_html($caps, $cap, $user_id) { if ($cap === 'unfiltered_html') { $caps = array(); } return $caps; }
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove administrator access from untrusted users.
- Implement web application firewall rules to block XSS payloads in plugin parameters.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin > Plugins > TWW Protein Calculator version. If version is 1.0.24 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get twwc-protein --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 1.0.25 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual admin activity modifying plugin settings
- Suspicious JavaScript in page headers
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected script tags in HTTP responses from protein calculator pages
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND "twwc-protein" AND ("update" OR "modify") AND user_role="administrator"🔗 References
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/twwc-protein/tags/1.0.24/templates/protein-calculator-compact.php#L19
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/twwc-protein/tags/1.0.24/templates/protein-calculator-large.php#L32
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/twwc-protein/trunk/templates/protein-calculator-compact.php#L19
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/twwc-protein/trunk/templates/protein-calculator-large.php#L32
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/b57749db-0a47-44f8-8607-d0d962c5ced2?source=cve
