CVE-2025-5285 in Product Subtitle for WooCommerce Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/31/2025
The Product Subtitle for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the ‘htmlTag’ parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.3.9 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. 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 • 06/03/2025
The CVE-2025-5285 vulnerability affects the Product Subtitle for WooCommerce plugin, a widely used extension for WordPress e-commerce platforms. This security flaw exists in versions up to and including 1.3.9, creating a persistent threat vector that allows malicious actors with Contributor-level privileges or higher to execute stored cross-site scripting attacks. The vulnerability specifically targets the 'htmlTag' parameter within the plugin's functionality, exploiting inadequate input sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly validate or escape user-supplied data before processing.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient data validation practices within the plugin's codebase, where the 'htmlTag' parameter receives user input without proper sanitization measures. This parameter is designed to handle HTML content for product subtitle formatting, but the lack of comprehensive input filtering allows attackers to inject malicious script code that gets stored within the application's database. When legitimate users access pages containing this maliciously injected content, the stored scripts execute in their browsers, creating a persistent threat that can affect multiple users over time.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability represents a significant risk to WordPress sites utilizing the affected WooCommerce plugin, as it requires only Contributor-level access to exploit. This privilege level is often granted to users who contribute content to websites, including editors, authors, and contributors who may not be fully trusted. The stored nature of the XSS attack means that once malicious code is injected, it will execute automatically whenever any user accesses the affected pages, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or further exploitation of the compromised systems. The impact extends beyond simple script execution, as attackers could leverage this vector to perform actions on behalf of authenticated users.
Security professionals should immediately implement mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability, including updating to the latest plugin version where the issue has been resolved. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security measures such as input validation at multiple layers, enhanced output escaping mechanisms, and monitoring for suspicious user activities. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a clear violation of secure coding practices that should be addressed through proper input sanitization and output encoding. Additionally, this issue maps to ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers social engineering through malicious content injection, highlighting the potential for broader exploitation beyond simple script execution. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and content security policies to provide additional defense-in-depth measures against similar vulnerabilities.