CVE-2025-23807
📋 TL;DR
This stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Spiderpowa Embed PDF WordPress plugin allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages. When users view pages containing the malicious PDF embeds, their browsers execute the attacker's code. All WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this plugin are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Spiderpowa Embed PDF 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 administrator session cookies, take over WordPress sites, redirect users to malicious sites, or deploy malware to visitors' browsers.
Likely Case
Attackers inject malicious JavaScript to steal user session cookies, perform actions as authenticated users, or deface website content.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output encoding, malicious scripts would be rendered harmless as plain text rather than executable code.
🎯 Exploit Status
Stored XSS vulnerabilities are commonly exploited. Attackers need to be able to embed PDFs (typically requires contributor or higher privileges).
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.0.1 or later
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Spiderpowa Embed PDF' and click 'Update Now'. 4. Verify plugin version is 1.0.1 or higher.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate spiderpowa-embed-pdf
Restrict User Roles
allLimit who can embed PDFs to trusted administrators only
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with XSS protection rules
- Add Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for Spiderpowa Embed PDF version 1.0 or earlierCheck Version:
wp plugin get spiderpowa-embed-pdf --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 1.0.1 or higher in WordPress admin panel📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual PDF embedding activity
- Multiple failed PDF upload attempts
- Suspicious user agent strings in plugin requests
Network Indicators:
- Malicious script patterns in HTTP POST requests to PDF upload endpoints
- Unexpected JavaScript in PDF embed responses
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND "spiderpowa-embed-pdf" AND ("upload" OR "embed") AND ("script" OR "javascript" OR "onerror")