CVE-2025-22646: aThemes Addons Elementor Stored XSS Flaw

CVE-2025-22646 Overview

CVE-2025-22646 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the aThemes Addons for Elementor WordPress plugin developed by Syed Balkhi. The flaw affects all versions of athemes-addons-for-elementor-lite up to and including 1.0.8. The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation, classified under [CWE-79]. Authenticated attackers with low privileges can inject malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of other users who view the affected pages. The issue has a changed scope, meaning injected payloads can impact components beyond the vulnerable plugin.

Critical Impact
Authenticated contributors can store malicious JavaScript that executes in administrator and visitor browsers, enabling session theft and administrative action hijacking.

Affected Products

aThemes Addons for Elementor Lite plugin for WordPress
Versions from n/a through 1.0.8 (inclusive)
WordPress sites running the free edition of the plugin

Discovery Timeline

2025-03-27 - CVE-2025-22646 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-22646

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a stored XSS flaw in the aThemes Addons for Elementor Lite plugin. The plugin fails to sanitize or escape user-supplied input before storing it and rendering it back into generated web pages. An authenticated user with privileges to edit Elementor content can inject arbitrary HTML or JavaScript into widget parameters. The payload persists in the WordPress database and executes whenever another user renders the affected page. Because the scope is changed, scripts executed in a victim's browser can act against resources outside the vulnerable component, including the WordPress admin interface.

Root Cause

The plugin omits proper output escaping functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), or wp_kses() when rendering user-controlled widget attributes. Input validation on the server side is also insufficient, allowing script tags and event handlers to pass through unchanged into the final HTML output.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access, low-level authentication such as a Contributor or Editor account, and user interaction from a victim viewing the compromised page. The attacker crafts an Elementor widget containing a JavaScript payload, publishes or previews the content, and waits for an administrator or site visitor to load the affected page. Executed scripts run with the victim's session context in the browser.

See the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Report for additional technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-22646

Indicators of Compromise

Elementor widget content in wp_postmeta containing <script> tags, javascript: URIs, or inline event handlers such as onerror= and onload=
Unexpected outbound requests from administrator browsers to attacker-controlled domains after visiting plugin-rendered pages
New or modified administrator accounts created shortly after an authenticated low-privilege user edited Elementor content
WordPress audit log entries showing content edits by contributor-level accounts that include unusual HTML markup

Detection Strategies

Scan the WordPress database for post meta values associated with aThemes Addons widgets containing HTML or script payloads
Review web server access logs for Elementor preview or save endpoints followed by anomalous DOM-based script execution
Deploy a Web Application Firewall rule that inspects POST bodies to admin-ajax.php and Elementor save handlers for XSS signatures

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress activity logging for all content creation and edit actions by non-administrator roles
Monitor Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for inline script execution on pages rendered by the plugin
Alert on administrator session activity originating from unexpected IP addresses or user agents following page views

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-22646

Immediate Actions Required

Audit all WordPress installations for the aThemes Addons for Elementor Lite plugin and identify versions at or below 1.0.8
Deactivate the plugin on affected sites until a patched version is installed and verified
Review Contributor, Author, and Editor accounts for unexpected activity and rotate credentials for any suspicious accounts
Inspect existing Elementor content for stored XSS payloads and remove malicious markup

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no fixed version is explicitly identified in the referenced advisory. Monitor the Patchstack advisory and the WordPress plugin repository for a release above 1.0.8 that addresses CVE-2025-22646, and apply it as soon as it becomes available.

Workarounds

Restrict content editing privileges to trusted administrators only until a patched version is deployed
Deploy a Web Application Firewall with rules that block common XSS payloads submitted to Elementor save endpoints
Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and restricts script sources to trusted origins
Remove the plugin entirely and switch to an alternative Elementor extension with an active security maintenance record

bash

# Configuration example: identify affected plugin version via WP-CLI
wp plugin get athemes-addons-for-elementor-lite --field=version
wp plugin deactivate athemes-addons-for-elementor-lite