CVE-2025-23621: Causes Donation Plugin XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-23621 Overview

CVE-2025-23621 is a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the algothemes Causes – Donation Plugin for WordPress. The flaw stems from improper neutralization of user input during web page generation [CWE-79]. Affected versions include all releases up to and including 1.0.01. An unauthenticated attacker can craft a malicious URL that, when clicked by a victim, executes arbitrary JavaScript in the victim's browser session within the WordPress site context.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation enables session theft, credential harvesting, administrative action abuse via CSRF, and redirection to attacker-controlled infrastructure when a privileged user clicks a crafted link.

Affected Products

algothemes Causes – Donation Plugin for WordPress
Versions from n/a through <= 1.0.01
WordPress sites with the plugin installed and active

Discovery Timeline

2025-01-24 - CVE-2025-23621 published to NVD
2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-23621

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a reflected XSS issue [CWE-79] in the Causes – Donation Plugin. The plugin accepts request parameters and reflects them into HTML responses without proper output encoding or input sanitization. Attackers deliver the payload through a crafted URL, requiring user interaction to trigger execution. Because the scope is changed, JavaScript executed in the plugin's context can interact with resources beyond the vulnerable component, including parent WordPress administrative interfaces.

Root Cause

The plugin fails to apply WordPress sanitization functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), or sanitize_text_field() to one or more request parameters before echoing them back into rendered pages. Untrusted input flows directly from the HTTP request into the HTML response, allowing attacker-supplied markup and script tags to be parsed by the browser.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires no authentication and is performed over the network. An attacker hosts or distributes a malicious link pointing to the vulnerable WordPress endpoint with an injected JavaScript payload in a query parameter. When a logged-in administrator or site visitor clicks the link, their browser renders the response and executes the injected code. Typical payloads steal session cookies, perform forced administrative actions, deface page content, or redirect victims to phishing pages. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-23621

Indicators of Compromise

Web server access logs containing query parameters with <script>, javascript:, onerror=, or URL-encoded equivalents (%3Cscript%3E) targeting plugin endpoints.
Outbound requests from administrator browsers to unfamiliar domains shortly after clicking inbound email or social-media links.
Unexpected creation of WordPress administrator accounts or modification of plugin and theme files following an admin session.

Detection Strategies

Inspect HTTP request and response pairs for reflection of unsanitized parameter values into HTML response bodies on Causes plugin URLs.
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) ruleset that flags common XSS payload signatures targeting WordPress plugin parameters.
Correlate referrer headers from external sources with subsequent privileged actions inside wp-admin.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose WordPress audit logging for administrative actions, plugin modifications, and user creation events.
Monitor browser security telemetry on workstations used by site administrators for anomalous script execution.
Track plugin inventory and version state across WordPress estates to detect installations of vulnerable Causes – Donation Plugin builds.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-23621

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress sites running the algothemes Causes – Donation Plugin and verify the installed version.
Deactivate and remove the plugin on any installation running version 1.0.01 or earlier until a patched release is confirmed.
Force password resets and invalidate active sessions for WordPress administrator accounts that may have visited crafted links.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, the vendor advisory tracked by Patchstack indicates the vulnerability affects versions through <= 1.0.01. Administrators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the plugin's official channel for the latest fixed release and apply it across all environments.

Workarounds

Apply WAF rules that block reflected XSS payloads targeting the plugin's request parameters.
Restrict access to WordPress administrative pages by IP allowlist where feasible.
Train administrators to avoid clicking unsolicited links pointing to their own WordPress domains and to use separate browser profiles for wp-admin access.

bash

# Example ModSecurity rule to block common XSS payloads in query strings
SecRule ARGS "@rx (?i)(<script|javascript:|onerror=|onload=)" \
    "id:1009023,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Reflected XSS attempt blocked (CVE-2025-23621)'"