CVE-2025-4168
📋 TL;DR
The Subpage List WordPress plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability that allows authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher to inject malicious scripts into website pages. These scripts execute whenever users view the compromised pages, potentially stealing credentials or performing unauthorized actions. All WordPress sites using this plugin up to version 1.3.3 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress Subpage List 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 accounts inject malicious scripts to steal user session cookies or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output escaping, the vulnerability would be prevented entirely.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is straightforward once attacker has contributor-level credentials.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.3.4 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/subpage-view/trunk/inc/class-subpage-list-shortcode.php#L25
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Subpage List' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. If no update available, deactivate and delete the plugin, then install the latest version from WordPress repository.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Remove Contributor Access
allTemporarily remove contributor-level access for untrusted users to prevent exploitation.
Disable Plugin
allDeactivate the Subpage List plugin until patched.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict user role management and audit contributor accounts
- Add web application firewall rules to block XSS payloads in plugin parameters
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for Subpage List plugin version 1.3.3 or earlier.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=subpage-list --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 1.3.4 or later in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to WordPress admin-ajax.php with subpage parameters containing script tags
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful contributor login
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests with encoded JavaScript in query parameters or POST data to WordPress pages
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("subpages" OR "subpage-list") AND ("script" OR "javascript:" OR "onload=" OR "onerror=")