CVE-2025-10182: WordPress dbview Plugin XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-10182 Overview

CVE-2025-10182 is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the dbview plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 0.5.5. It resides in the plugin's dbview shortcode, which fails to properly sanitize user-supplied attributes and escape output.

Authenticated users with contributor-level access or higher can inject arbitrary JavaScript into pages. The injected script executes in the browser of any user who views the affected page, including administrators. The issue is tracked as [CWE-79] Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation.

Critical Impact
Contributor-level accounts can persist arbitrary JavaScript inside published content, enabling session theft, administrative account takeover, and drive-by browser attacks against site visitors.

Affected Products

WordPress dbview plugin versions <= 0.5.5
WordPress sites that permit contributor-level registration or higher
Any page or post rendering the vulnerable dbview shortcode

Discovery Timeline

2025-09-30 - CVE-2025-10182 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-10182

Vulnerability Analysis

The dbview plugin exposes a shortcode that accepts user-controlled attributes and renders them into rendered HTML output. The plugin fails to apply WordPress sanitization helpers such as esc_attr() or esc_html() before echoing the attribute values.

Because WordPress contributors can author posts containing shortcodes, any authenticated user at contributor level or above can embed a malicious dbview shortcode. When an editor, administrator, or site visitor loads the resulting page, the injected script executes in their session context. This is a stored (persistent) XSS pattern with a scope-changed impact, since scripts running in an administrator's browser can invoke privileged WordPress REST endpoints.

Root Cause

The root cause is insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on shortcode attribute values processed by the plugin's shortcode handler. The vulnerable rendering path is referenced at WordPress DBView Class Code. Attribute values flow directly from shortcode_atts() output into the HTML response without neutralization of HTML metacharacters or JavaScript event handlers.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires an authenticated session with contributor privileges or higher. The attacker creates or edits a post containing a dbview shortcode whose attributes carry an XSS payload, such as attribute values that break out of the surrounding HTML context and introduce <script> tags or inline event handlers. Once the post is published or previewed by a higher-privileged user, the payload executes. Full technical detail is available in the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-10182

Indicators of Compromise

Posts or pages authored by contributor-level accounts containing the [dbview] shortcode with unusual attribute values.
Post content containing HTML metacharacters (<, >, ", ') inside dbview shortcode attributes.
Unexpected outbound requests from administrator browsers to attacker-controlled domains shortly after viewing plugin-rendered pages.
Creation of new administrator accounts or modified user roles following contributor activity.

Detection Strategies

Query the wp_posts table for post_content LIKE '%[dbview%' and review attribute values for script payloads or event handlers.
Monitor WordPress audit logs for contributor accounts editing or publishing posts that include the dbview shortcode.
Deploy a web application firewall rule that inspects rendered responses for reflected script payloads originating from shortcode attributes.

Monitoring Recommendations

Alert on new or modified posts submitted by contributor-role users containing shortcode attributes with <, on*=, or javascript: tokens.
Track HTTP responses from pages containing the dbview shortcode for Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports.
Correlate administrator session events with post-preview activity on contributor-authored content.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-10182

Immediate Actions Required

Deactivate the dbview plugin until a patched release is available.
Audit all contributor-level and above accounts for unfamiliar users or recent role changes.
Review existing posts and pages for dbview shortcode usage and remove suspicious attribute values.
Rotate credentials for any administrator that previewed contributor-authored content since the plugin was installed.

Patch Information

At the time of the NVD entry, all versions through 0.5.5 are affected and no fixed version is listed in the referenced advisories. Monitor the Wordfence Vulnerability Report and the plugin's WordPress repository for a patched release, and apply it immediately once available.

Workarounds

Restrict contributor and author role assignments to trusted users only, and disable open registration for those roles.
Remove the dbview shortcode from active content by uninstalling the plugin or filtering it out with remove_shortcode('dbview') in a mu-plugin.
Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that blocks inline scripts and unauthorized script sources to limit XSS payload execution.
Require higher-privileged review and sanitization of any post authored by contributors before publication.

bash

# Configuration example: disable the vulnerable shortcode until a fix is released
# Place in a must-use plugin under wp-content/mu-plugins/disable-dbview.php
<?php
add_action('init', function () {
    if (shortcode_exists('dbview')) {
        remove_shortcode('dbview');
    }
}, 20);