CVE-2025-14032
📋 TL;DR
The Bold Timeline Lite WordPress plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability in the 'title' parameter of the 'bold_timeline_group' shortcode. Authenticated attackers with Contributor access or higher can inject malicious scripts that execute when users view affected pages. This affects all WordPress sites using plugin versions up to 1.2.7.
💻 Affected Systems
- Bold Timeline Lite 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 backdoors for persistent access.
Likely Case
Attackers inject malicious scripts to steal user session cookies, redirect visitors to phishing sites, or display unwanted content.
If Mitigated
With proper user role management and content filtering, impact is limited to minor content manipulation within Contributor permissions.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is technically simple once credentials are obtained.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.2.8 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://wordpress.org/plugins/bold-timeline-lite/#developers
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Bold Timeline Lite' and click 'Update Now'. 4. Verify version is 1.2.8 or higher.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate bold-timeline-lite
Restrict User Roles
allRemove Contributor role access or implement stricter role-based access controls
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall with XSS filtering rules
- Remove Contributor role permissions for all users
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel → Plugins → Bold Timeline Lite → Version number. If version is 1.2.7 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get bold-timeline-lite --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify plugin version shows 1.2.8 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to WordPress admin-ajax.php with bold_timeline_group parameters
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful Contributor-level login
Network Indicators:
- Inbound traffic from unusual locations to WordPress admin endpoints
- Outbound connections to suspicious domains after page views
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("bold_timeline_group" OR "title parameter") AND status=200🔗 References
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/bold-timeline-lite/tags/1.2.7/assets/views/bold_timeline_group_view.php#L79
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/bold-timeline-lite/trunk/assets/views/bold_timeline_group_view.php#L79
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/bold-timeline-lite
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/840fd950-3ce3-4068-b8bc-270f168a5091?source=cve
