CVE-2025-12025 Overview
CVE-2025-12025 is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Easy YouTube Subscribe plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 3.0.0. The root cause is insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in the plugin's admin settings.
Authenticated attackers with administrator-level permissions can inject arbitrary web scripts through the admin settings. Injected scripts execute in the browser of any user who accesses an affected page. The vulnerability only impacts WordPress multi-site installations and installations where unfiltered_html has been disabled, since single-site administrators normally have unrestricted HTML capabilities.
Critical Impact
Authenticated administrators on multi-site or unfiltered_html-restricted WordPress deployments can persist arbitrary JavaScript that runs against every visitor of the affected page.
Affected Products
- Easy YouTube Subscribe plugin for WordPress
- All versions up to and including 3.0.0
- WordPress multi-site installations or sites with unfiltered_html disabled
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-11-25 - CVE-2025-12025 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-12025
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting weakness classified under [CWE-79]. The Easy YouTube Subscribe plugin exposes admin settings that accept user-supplied values without applying WordPress sanitization functions such as sanitize_text_field() or wp_kses(). Those values are subsequently rendered in generated pages without escaping through esc_html(), esc_attr(), or equivalent output functions.
Because the payload is persisted in the WordPress options table, it executes for every visitor who loads a page containing the plugin's shortcode output. The affected rendering paths are visible in the plugin source at includes/sm-youtube-subscription-shortcode.php around lines 242 and 246, as referenced in the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.
Root Cause
Admin-supplied settings values are stored and later echoed into the page markup without sanitization on input or escaping on output. WordPress relies on capability-based trust: when an administrator has the unfiltered_html capability, arbitrary HTML in settings is expected. On multi-site installs and hardened single-site installs where unfiltered_html is revoked, the plugin fails to enforce equivalent sanitization itself.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires an authenticated account with administrator-level permissions. The attacker submits a crafted payload containing JavaScript through the plugin's admin settings interface. The stored payload executes in the context of any visitor loading the shortcode-rendered page, enabling session token theft, forced administrative actions, or redirection to attacker-controlled infrastructure. The scope is limited to multi-site super-admin scenarios or sites that intentionally revoke unfiltered_html from network administrators.
No public proof-of-concept exploit is currently available. See the WordPress Plugin Source Code for the affected sink.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-12025
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected <script>, onerror, or onload markup persisted in the plugin's option rows within the wp_options table.
- Outbound requests from visitor browsers to unfamiliar domains after loading pages containing the Easy YouTube Subscribe shortcode.
- New or modified administrator accounts created shortly after admin settings modifications for this plugin.
Detection Strategies
- Inspect stored plugin settings for HTML tags, JavaScript event handlers, or encoded payloads that should not appear in configuration values.
- Monitor WordPress audit logs for update_option calls tied to the easy-youtube-subscribe plugin by administrator accounts.
- Deploy a Content Security Policy (CSP) in report-only mode to surface inline script execution originating from plugin-rendered pages.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable a WordPress activity logging plugin to record administrator settings changes with before/after values.
- Alert on anomalous administrator logins, especially from new geolocations or IP ranges, on multi-site networks.
- Correlate web server access logs for requests to pages rendering the plugin shortcode with spikes in outbound third-party requests.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-12025
Immediate Actions Required
- Audit sites for the presence of the Easy YouTube Subscribe plugin and identify version 3.0.0 or earlier.
- Deactivate the plugin on multi-site installations and any site where unfiltered_html has been revoked until a patched version is available.
- Review the plugin's stored settings for injected script content and remove any unauthorized payloads.
- Rotate administrator credentials and invalidate active sessions if compromise is suspected.
Patch Information
At the time of publication, no fixed version has been listed in the NVD entry beyond the vulnerable 3.0.0 release. Monitor the WordPress Easy YouTube Subscribe Plugin page for updates and apply the vendor-supplied patch as soon as it is released.
Workarounds
- Restrict administrator-level access on multi-site networks to trusted super-admins only.
- Remove the plugin entirely if it is not actively used, and purge related rows from wp_options.
- Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts to limit the impact of stored payloads.
- Place the WordPress admin interface behind IP allowlisting or a web application firewall (WAF) with XSS rules enabled.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.