CVE-2025-23924 in WP Photo Sphere Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/16/2025
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Jérémy Heleine WP Photo Sphere allows Stored XSS.This issue affects WP Photo Sphere: from n/a through 3.8.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/10/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-23924 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the WP Photo Sphere plugin for WordPress platforms. This stored XSS vulnerability arises from inadequate input sanitization during web page generation processes, creating a persistent security risk that can affect users across multiple versions of the plugin. The vulnerability specifically impacts versions from the initial release through version 3.8, indicating a long-standing issue that has not been adequately addressed in the plugin's development lifecycle. The flaw allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that persist in the application's database and execute whenever affected pages are loaded, making it particularly dangerous for content management systems that rely on user-generated content.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of user-supplied data within the plugin's web page generation functions. When users submit content or parameters through the WP Photo Sphere interface, the application fails to properly sanitize or escape input before rendering it in HTML contexts. This creates an environment where malicious actors can embed script tags or other executable code that gets stored in the database and subsequently executed in the browsers of unsuspecting users. The vulnerability manifests as a stored XSS attack because the malicious payloads are permanently saved within the application's data storage rather than being reflected in a single request, amplifying its potential impact and making it more persistent than traditional reflected XSS flaws.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and redirection to malicious sites. Attackers can exploit this flaw to steal administrator credentials, modify content, inject malware, or establish persistent backdoors within affected WordPress installations. The vulnerability affects not only the plugin's functionality but also the broader security posture of WordPress sites that rely on it, potentially compromising entire web applications and their associated user data. Given that many WordPress installations are targeted by automated scanning tools, this stored XSS vulnerability presents a significant risk to organizations that have not updated their plugins to address this specific weakness.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should begin with immediate plugin updates to versions that address the XSS flaw, as recommended by the vendor and security advisory organizations. System administrators should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding measures to prevent similar issues in other custom or third-party plugins. The implementation of Content Security Policies can provide additional defense-in-depth measures to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts even if XSS attacks are partially successful. Organizations should also conduct regular security assessments of their WordPress installations, including automated scanning for known vulnerabilities and manual code reviews of plugin components. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege and secure input handling that forms the foundation of web application security practices. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a web application vulnerability exploitation technique, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security controls that address both the immediate threat and broader application security weaknesses that may enable similar attacks.