CVE-2025-23651: Scroll Top Plugin XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-23651 Overview

CVE-2025-23651 is a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the WordPress Scroll Top plugin (scroll-to-top-builder) developed by adamskaat. This vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of user input during web page generation, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of a victim's browser session.

Critical Impact

Attackers can exploit this Reflected XSS vulnerability to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in victims' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, phishing attacks, or malware distribution targeting WordPress site visitors.

Affected Products

• WordPress Scroll Top plugin (scroll-to-top-builder) versions up to and including 1.3.3
• WordPress installations using vulnerable versions of the Scroll Top plugin

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-02-14 - CVE-2025-23651 published to NVD
• 2026-04-15 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-23651

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, commonly known as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). The Reflected XSS variant means that the malicious payload is delivered via a crafted URL and is immediately reflected back in the server's response without proper sanitization.

In the context of WordPress plugins, Reflected XSS vulnerabilities typically occur when user-supplied input from URL parameters, form fields, or HTTP headers is echoed back in the HTML response without adequate encoding or validation. The Scroll Top plugin fails to properly sanitize input before rendering it in the browser, creating an attack surface for script injection.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-23651 is insufficient input validation and output encoding within the Scroll Top plugin. When user-controllable data is processed by the plugin, it fails to apply proper HTML entity encoding or JavaScript escaping before incorporating the data into the webpage output. This allows specially crafted input containing JavaScript code to be interpreted as executable script by the victim's browser.

WordPress plugins handling user input must implement proper sanitization using WordPress core functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), wp_kses(), or similar escaping mechanisms to prevent XSS attacks.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this Reflected XSS vulnerability involves social engineering to trick a victim into clicking a malicious link. The attacker crafts a URL containing a JavaScript payload embedded in a vulnerable parameter. When the victim clicks the link and visits the WordPress site running the vulnerable Scroll Top plugin, the malicious script executes in their browser session.

Typical exploitation scenarios include:

• Session cookie theft leading to account takeover
• Keylogging to capture credentials entered on the page
• Defacement or content manipulation of the WordPress site
• Redirection to phishing pages or malware distribution sites
• Performing actions on behalf of the authenticated user

Since no verified code examples are available for this vulnerability, readers should refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical details on the exploitation mechanism.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-23651

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual URL parameters containing encoded JavaScript or HTML tags in requests to WordPress pages
• Server logs showing requests with suspicious query strings containing <script>, javascript:, onerror=, or similar XSS patterns
• User reports of unexpected browser behavior or pop-ups when visiting the WordPress site
• Evidence of cookie exfiltration attempts in network traffic logs

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common XSS patterns in URL parameters
• Monitor HTTP access logs for requests containing XSS payloads targeting the Scroll Top plugin
• Deploy Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to detect and report inline script execution attempts
• Use WordPress security plugins that scan for known vulnerable plugin versions

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for the WordPress installation to capture suspicious request patterns
• Configure real-time alerting for security events related to XSS attack attempts
• Regularly audit installed WordPress plugins against known vulnerability databases
• Monitor for anomalous outbound connections that could indicate successful exploitation

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-23651

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Scroll Top (scroll-to-top-builder) plugin to a patched version if available
• If no patch is available, consider temporarily deactivating the vulnerable plugin
• Review server logs for evidence of exploitation attempts
• Implement Web Application Firewall rules to block XSS payloads

Patch Information

Users should check for updates to the Scroll Top plugin from the WordPress plugin repository or the developer's official channels. The vulnerability affects versions up to and including 1.3.3. Additional details and patch information may be available in the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Workarounds

• Temporarily deactivate the Scroll Top plugin until a security patch is released
• Implement strict Content Security Policy headers to mitigate XSS impact
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall with XSS detection rules enabled
• Restrict administrative access to the WordPress dashboard to trusted IP addresses

# Example: Add Content Security Policy header in .htaccess for Apache
<IfModule mod_headers.c>
    Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'; object-src 'none';"
</IfModule>