CVE-2025-3890 – The WordPress Simple Shopping Cart plugin has a... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2025-3890?

CVE-2025-3890 has a CVSS score of 6.4 (MEDIUM). The WordPress Simple Shopping Cart plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability in its 'wp_cart_button' shortcode. Authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher can inject malicious scripts that execute when users view affected pages. This affects all plugin versions up to and including 5.1.3.

📋 TL;DR

The WordPress Simple Shopping Cart plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability in its 'wp_cart_button' shortcode. Authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher can inject malicious scripts that execute when users view affected pages. This affects all plugin versions up to and including 5.1.3.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

WordPress Simple Shopping Cart plugin

Versions: All versions up to and including 5.1.3

Operating Systems: All

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires WordPress installation with the vulnerable plugin enabled. Contributor-level access or higher needed for exploitation.

📦 What is this software?

Wordpress Simple Paypal Shopping Cart by Tipsandtricks Hq

View all CVEs affecting Wordpress Simple Paypal Shopping Cart →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Attackers could steal admin credentials, deface websites, redirect users to malicious sites, or install backdoors for persistent access.

🟠

Likely Case

Attackers with contributor accounts inject malicious scripts to steal user session cookies or perform phishing attacks against site visitors.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper user access controls and content security policies, impact is limited to isolated script execution without broader system compromise.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires authenticated access but is technically simple once access is obtained.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 5.1.4

Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3284572/

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Simple Shopping Cart' and click 'Update Now'. 4. Verify version is 5.1.4 or higher.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable vulnerable shortcode

all

Remove or disable the wp_cart_button shortcode functionality

Add to theme's functions.php: remove_shortcode('wp_cart_button');

Restrict user roles

all

Limit contributor-level access to trusted users only

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution
Regularly audit user accounts and remove unnecessary contributor-level access

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check plugin version in WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins. If version is 5.1.3 or lower, system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

wp plugin list --name='Simple Shopping Cart' --field=version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify plugin version is 5.1.4 or higher. Test shortcode functionality to ensure it still works without script injection.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual shortcode modifications in post/page content
Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful contributor login

Network Indicators:

Unexpected script tags in page responses containing wp_cart_button attributes

SIEM Query:

source="wordpress.log" AND ("wp_cart_button" OR "shortcode") AND ("script" OR "onclick" OR "javascript:")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2025-3890

CVSS v3 Score: 6.4 (MEDIUM)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

CWE: CWE-79

EPSS Score: 0.05% exploit probability (15.8th percentile)

Published: May 1, 2025

Last Updated: May 6, 2025

🔗 References

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