CVE-2025-4584 in IRM Newsroom Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 06/13/2025
The IRM Newsroom plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's 'irmeventlist' shortcode in all versions up to, and including, 1.2.17 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, 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 • 07/03/2025
The CVE-2025-4584 vulnerability resides within the IRM Newsroom plugin for WordPress, specifically targeting the 'irmeventlist' shortcode functionality. This issue represents a critical stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that affects all versions up to and including 1.2.17, creating a significant security risk for WordPress installations utilizing this plugin. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms that fail to properly validate or sanitize user-supplied attributes passed to the shortcode. Attackers exploiting this weakness can inject malicious scripts that persist within the plugin's data storage, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous as the malicious code executes automatically whenever affected pages are accessed by any user with appropriate privileges.
The technical flaw manifests through the plugin's insufficient validation of shortcode attributes, allowing authenticated users with contributor-level access or higher to manipulate input parameters that are subsequently rendered in web pages without proper escaping. This vulnerability operates under the CWE-79 classification as a Stored Cross-Site Scripting flaw, where malicious payloads are stored on the server and executed when legitimate users access affected content. The attack vector leverages the plugin's shortcode processing mechanism, which fails to implement proper output encoding before rendering user-provided data, creating an environment where JavaScript code can be injected and executed in the context of other users' browsers. This allows attackers to potentially steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of victims, or redirect users to malicious websites.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables attackers to leverage the privileges of authenticated users to perform unauthorized actions within the WordPress environment. Contributors and higher-level users possess sufficient permissions to modify content, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations where content creators or editors might be compromised. The stored nature of the XSS payload means that once injected, malicious code will execute for every user who accesses pages containing the affected shortcode, potentially affecting numerous site visitors and creating a persistent threat vector. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for credential access through phishing and can be exploited to establish persistent access through session hijacking or privilege escalation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2025-4584 require immediate action including updating to the latest version of the IRM Newsroom plugin where the vulnerability has been addressed through proper input sanitization and output escaping implementations. Administrators should also implement additional security measures such as restricting contributor-level access to only essential functionality, monitoring for unauthorized shortcode usage, and implementing content security policies to limit script execution. Regular security audits of installed plugins should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities, and input validation should be strengthened across all user-supplied data processing within WordPress installations. The fix typically involves implementing proper HTML escaping routines for all output generated by shortcodes and ensuring that user-provided attributes undergo rigorous sanitization before being stored or rendered in web pages.