CVE-2025-3794
📋 TL;DR
The WPForms WordPress plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability in versions up to 1.9.5 that allows authenticated attackers with Contributor-level access or higher to inject malicious scripts into web pages. These scripts execute whenever users visit the compromised pages, potentially stealing credentials or performing unauthorized actions. All WordPress sites using vulnerable WPForms versions are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- WPForms 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, deface websites, redirect users to malicious sites, or install backdoors for persistent access.
Likely Case
Attackers with contributor access inject malicious scripts to steal user session cookies or credentials, potentially escalating privileges.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output escaping, the vulnerability would be prevented, and only sanitized data would be displayed.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is technically simple once access is obtained.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.9.6 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpforms-lite/#developers
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find WPForms plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update is available. 5. Alternatively, download latest version from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Remove Contributor Access
allTemporarily remove Contributor-level user roles or restrict their capabilities to prevent exploitation.
Input Validation Filter
allAdd custom input validation for start_timestamp parameter in WordPress functions.php or via security plugin.
add_filter('wpforms_process_before', 'sanitize_start_timestamp'); function sanitize_start_timestamp($fields) { if(isset($fields['start_timestamp'])) { $fields['start_timestamp'] = sanitize_text_field($fields['start_timestamp']); } return $fields; }
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable WPForms plugin temporarily until patch can be applied.
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block XSS payloads targeting the start_timestamp parameter.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WPForms plugin version in WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins. If version is 1.9.5 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=wpforms --field=version (if using WP-CLI)Verify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify WPForms version is 1.9.6 or higher in the plugin list. Test form submissions with script payloads in start_timestamp to ensure they are sanitized.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with start_timestamp parameter containing script tags or JavaScript code
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful Contributor-level login
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing <script> tags or JavaScript in start_timestamp parameter
- Unexpected outbound connections from WordPress site after form submissions
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("start_timestamp" AND ("<script>" OR "javascript:" OR "onload=" OR "onerror="))