CVE-2025-5488 in WP Masonry & Infinite Scroll Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 06/26/2025
The WP Masonry & Infinite Scroll plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's 'wmis' shortcode in all versions up to, and including, 2.2 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 • 06/26/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-5488 affects the WP Masonry & Infinite Scroll plugin for WordPress, specifically targeting versions up to and including 2.2. This represents a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of WordPress installations using this plugin. The vulnerability manifests through the plugin's 'wmis' shortcode functionality, which fails to properly validate or sanitize user-supplied input parameters. Security researchers have classified this as a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability, meaning that malicious scripts can be permanently stored on the server and executed whenever affected pages are accessed by unsuspecting users.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's shortcode implementation. When administrators or users with contributor-level privileges and above submit content containing malicious script code through the wmis shortcode attributes, the plugin fails to properly filter or escape this input before processing. This oversight creates a persistent vector for attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code that gets stored in the WordPress database. The vulnerability specifically affects the plugin's handling of user-supplied attributes, where the system does not adequately validate the data type or content of parameters passed to the shortcode, allowing potentially harmful code to be embedded in legitimate page content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with a persistent foothold within WordPress installations. Authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher can leverage this vulnerability to inject malicious scripts that execute whenever any user accesses pages containing the compromised shortcode. This creates a significant risk for organizations where contributors or lower-level administrators might have access to content management features. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that once injected, malicious scripts remain active until manually removed, potentially affecting all users who view affected pages, including administrators who might inadvertently access compromised content.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2025-5488 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the sanitization and escaping deficiencies. Organizations should implement strict input validation measures and ensure that all user-supplied content passed to shortcode functions undergoes proper sanitization before being processed or stored. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which describes improper neutralization of input during web page generation, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for credential access through phishing with malicious attachments or links. Security administrators should also consider implementing web application firewalls to monitor for suspicious shortcode parameters and establish regular content audits to detect unauthorized script injections. Additionally, privilege escalation controls should be reviewed to ensure that only trusted users have contributor-level access to prevent unauthorized exploitation of this vulnerability.