CVE-2025-11995 in Community Events Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 11/01/2025
The Community Events plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via event details parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.5.2 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/01/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-11995 affects the Community Events plugin for WordPress, a widely used component that enables users to create and manage community-driven events within WordPress environments. This plugin serves as a critical feature for many websites that rely on user-generated event content, making its security implications particularly significant for organizations maintaining public-facing WordPress installations. The vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 1.5.2, representing a substantial attack surface given the plugin's popularity and the frequency with which WordPress sites are targeted by automated scanning tools.
The technical flaw manifests as a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability through the event details parameter, which fails to properly sanitize user input before storing it within the database. This occurs due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's codebase. When event details are submitted through the plugin's interface, the data bypasses adequate validation processes that should normally filter out potentially malicious script content. The vulnerability specifically targets the event details field where users can enter descriptive text, HTML content, or other data that gets stored and subsequently displayed on event pages without proper context-aware escaping.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it allows unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts that will execute whenever any user accesses an affected page containing the malicious content. This stored XSS vulnerability creates a persistent threat vector where attackers can embed malicious JavaScript code within event details, which then executes in the context of other users' browsers when they view the affected event pages. The implications extend beyond simple data theft as attackers can potentially perform session hijacking, redirect users to malicious sites, or execute more sophisticated attacks such as credential harvesting or browser exploitation techniques.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws in web applications, and represents a classic case of inadequate input validation and output encoding. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that WordPress is a target-rich environment for automated exploitation attempts, with security researchers regularly identifying vulnerabilities in popular plugins that can be leveraged for broader attacks against WordPress installations. The vulnerability also maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 which covers social engineering via spearphishing attachments, as attackers could potentially use this vulnerability to deliver malicious payloads to unsuspecting users who visit affected event pages.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including updating to the latest version of the Community Events plugin where available, applying the vendor-provided security patches, and implementing additional defensive measures such as web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious script content. Network administrators should monitor for exploitation attempts and consider implementing content security policies that limit script execution within WordPress environments. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation and output escaping in web applications, particularly for plugins that handle user-generated content, and underscores the necessity of regular security assessments of third-party WordPress components to prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in the broader WordPress ecosystem.