CVE-2025-3434
📋 TL;DR
The SMTP for Amazon SES – YaySMTP WordPress plugin has a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in email logs. Unauthenticated attackers can inject malicious scripts that execute when users view compromised pages. All WordPress sites using this plugin up to version 1.8 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- SMTP for Amazon SES – YaySMTP 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 credentials, take over WordPress sites, install backdoors, or redirect users to malicious sites.
Likely Case
Attackers inject malicious scripts to steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or deface website content.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output escaping, no script execution occurs, though malicious content may still be stored.
🎯 Exploit Status
XSS payloads can be injected via email logs without authentication. Exploitation is straightforward once the vulnerability is understood.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.9 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://wordpress.org/plugins/smtp-amazon-ses/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'SMTP for Amazon SES – YaySMTP'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 1.9+ from WordPress repository and replace plugin files.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Email Logging
allTemporarily disable the email logging feature to prevent exploitation
Remove Plugin
allUninstall the vulnerable plugin and use alternative SMTP solutions
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block XSS payloads
- Restrict access to WordPress admin panel and email log pages to trusted IPs only
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for 'SMTP for Amazon SES – YaySMTP'. If version is 1.8 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name='smtp-amazon-ses' --field=version (if WP-CLI installed)Verify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify plugin version shows 1.9 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual email log entries containing script tags or JavaScript code
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by email log access
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to email log pages with suspicious parameters
- Outbound connections to external domains from email log pages
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("yaysmtp" OR "email-log") AND ("<script>" OR "javascript:" OR "onload=" OR "onerror=")🔗 References
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/smtp-amazon-ses/trunk/includes/Functions.php
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/smtp-amazon-ses/trunk/includes/Helper/Utils.php
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3270161/
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/smtp-amazon-ses/
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/78ac91af-4d71-43f4-b9fc-cf5e6874e7de?source=cve
