CVE-2025-23444: Scroll Top Advanced XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-23444 Overview

CVE-2025-23444 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Scroll Top Advanced WordPress plugin developed by nasir179125. The flaw affects all versions of scroll-top-advanced up to and including version 2.5. The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation, tracked under [CWE-79]. An authenticated attacker with low privileges can inject persistent JavaScript payloads that execute in the browsers of users who view affected pages.

Critical Impact
Attackers with low-privileged access can inject stored JavaScript that executes against site visitors and administrators, enabling session theft, account takeover, and administrative action hijacking.

Affected Products

Scroll Top Advanced WordPress plugin (scroll-top-advanced)
All versions from initial release through 2.5
WordPress sites running the vulnerable plugin with contributor-level access or higher

Discovery Timeline

2025-01-16 - CVE-2025-23444 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-23444

Vulnerability Analysis

The Scroll Top Advanced plugin fails to sanitize and escape user-supplied input before rendering it within generated web pages. This allows an authenticated user to persist malicious HTML or JavaScript into the plugin's stored configuration or content fields. When another user loads a page containing the tainted data, the browser parses and executes the injected script in the site's origin.

The scope change reflected in the CVSS vector indicates that the injected script executes in a different security context than the vulnerable component. In practice, this means payloads stored via one user's session can compromise sessions belonging to administrators or unauthenticated visitors. User interaction is required, typically viewing a page where the payload renders.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing output encoding and input sanitization in the plugin's page generation routines. WordPress provides helper functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), and wp_kses_post() for safe rendering, but the plugin does not consistently apply them to stored plugin settings or content fields. As a result, raw HTML tags including <script> elements are written directly into the DOM.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access to the WordPress administrative interface and low-privileged authenticated access. The attacker submits a crafted payload through a plugin-controlled input field. The payload is persisted server-side and executes each time a victim renders the affected page. See the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-23444

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected <script>, <iframe>, <svg>, or event-handler attributes (onerror, onload) present in stored plugin settings or post content
Outbound requests from visitor browsers to unfamiliar domains after loading pages that render Scroll Top Advanced content
Newly created administrator accounts or modified user roles following visits to affected pages
Unauthorized changes to WordPress options tables containing plugin configuration

Detection Strategies

Audit the wp_options and post metadata tables for entries associated with scroll-top-advanced containing HTML tags or JavaScript URI schemes
Review web server access logs for POST requests to plugin settings endpoints from non-administrator accounts
Deploy a web application firewall rule that flags requests containing script tags or javascript: URIs targeting plugin admin pages

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress audit logging to capture plugin setting changes with user attribution
Alert on browser Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports referencing inline scripts on pages using the plugin
Monitor for anomalous administrator session activity such as password resets or plugin installations following visits to content pages

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-23444

Immediate Actions Required

Deactivate and remove the Scroll Top Advanced plugin until a patched version is confirmed available from the vendor
Restrict contributor, author, and editor accounts to trusted users only, since low-privileged accounts can exploit the flaw
Force password resets for administrator accounts that may have viewed affected pages
Review plugin-controlled content and remove any stored HTML or JavaScript payloads

Patch Information

At the time of the NVD entry, no fixed version beyond 2.5 is listed. Monitor the Patchstack advisory and the plugin's WordPress.org listing for update releases. Apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available.

Workarounds

Remove the plugin and replace it with a maintained alternative that sanitizes input
Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and untrusted script sources
Deploy a WordPress hardening plugin or WAF rule to strip HTML tags from Scroll Top Advanced input fields
Limit access to the WordPress admin dashboard by IP allowlisting where feasible

bash

# Example: Disable the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate scroll-top-advanced
wp plugin delete scroll-top-advanced

# Verify removal
wp plugin list --status=active | grep -i scroll-top-advanced