CVE-2025-24727
📋 TL;DR
A stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the CodePeople Contact Form Email WordPress plugin allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages. When users view pages containing the injected scripts, the attacker can steal session cookies, redirect users, or perform actions on their behalf. This affects all WordPress sites using Contact Form Email plugin versions up to 1.3.52.
💻 Affected Systems
- CodePeople Contact Form Email WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could steal administrator session cookies, gain administrative access to the WordPress site, install backdoors, deface the site, or pivot to attack other systems.
Likely Case
Attackers inject malicious JavaScript that steals user session cookies when visitors view affected pages, potentially compromising user accounts and performing unauthorized actions.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output encoding, malicious scripts would be neutralized before being stored or displayed to users.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires submitting malicious input through the contact form, which is then stored and executed when viewed by users.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.3.53 or later
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Contact Form to Email' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If no update available, deactivate and delete plugin, then install fresh version from WordPress repository.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Contact Form Email Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched version is available.
wp plugin deactivate contact-form-to-email
Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF)
allConfigure WAF rules to block XSS payloads in form submissions.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution sources.
- Monitor form submissions for suspicious patterns and implement rate limiting on contact form endpoints.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for 'Contact Form to Email' version. If version is 1.3.52 or lower, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get contact-form-to-email --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 1.3.53 or higher in WordPress admin panel. Test contact form functionality to ensure it still works properly.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to contact form endpoints containing JavaScript or HTML tags
- Multiple failed form submissions with suspicious payloads
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing script tags or JavaScript in form parameters
- Outbound connections to suspicious domains from contact form pages
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("contact-form" OR "wpcf7") AND ("<script>" OR "javascript:" OR "onerror=" OR "onload=")