CVE-2025-4585 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 'irmflat' 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 vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-4585 affects the IRM Newsroom plugin for WordPress, specifically targeting versions up to and including 1.2.17. This represents a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of WordPress installations utilizing this particular plugin. The vulnerability manifests through the plugin's 'irmflat' shortcode implementation, which fails to properly sanitize or escape user-supplied input data. The flaw exists within the plugin's core functionality and demonstrates a fundamental lack of proper input validation mechanisms that should be inherent in secure web application development practices.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient sanitization of attributes passed to the 'irmflat' shortcode. When authenticated users with contributor-level privileges or higher submit content containing malicious scripts through these attributes, the plugin fails to adequately process or escape the input before rendering it in the web page output. This creates a persistent cross-site scripting vector where malicious code becomes stored within the plugin's data handling mechanisms. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79 which describes Cross-Site Scripting flaws occurring due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can craft malicious payloads that will execute in the context of other users' browsers when they access pages containing the injected content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it provides attackers with persistent access to victim users' browser environments. Contributors and higher privileged users can inject malicious JavaScript code that will execute whenever legitimate users access pages containing the compromised shortcode. This creates a persistent threat vector where attackers can potentially harvest user credentials, session cookies, or perform other malicious activities within the context of the victim's browser session. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires minimal privilege levels to exploit, making it accessible to users who should normally have restricted capabilities within the WordPress environment. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which describes the use of compromised accounts to establish persistence and execute malicious code in web applications.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the sanitization and escaping issues. System administrators should ensure that all instances of the IRM Newsroom plugin are updated to the latest secure version that implements proper input validation and output escaping mechanisms. Additionally, implementing network-level monitoring and web application firewalls can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing principle of least privilege access controls to limit contributor-level access to only necessary functionality. Regular security audits of WordPress plugins and themes should be conducted to identify similar sanitization vulnerabilities. The remediation process should include thorough testing of the updated plugin to ensure that the fix properly addresses the input validation gaps while maintaining existing functionality. Security teams should also monitor for any exploitation attempts through log analysis and implement proper incident response procedures to handle potential breaches.