CVE-2025-23670: 4 Author Cheer Up Donate XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-23670 Overview

CVE-2025-23670 is a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the 4 author cheer up donate WordPress plugin by montashov. The flaw stems from improper neutralization of user input during web page generation [CWE-79]. Attackers can craft malicious URLs that execute arbitrary JavaScript in the browser of any victim who clicks the link. Successful exploitation requires user interaction but no authentication. The issue affects all plugin versions from initial release through 1.3.

Critical Impact
Reflected XSS enables attackers to steal session cookies, hijack authenticated WordPress sessions, redirect users to malicious sites, or deliver further payloads through the trusted site context.

Affected Products

WordPress plugin: 4-author-cheer-up-donate by montashov
All versions through and including 1.3
WordPress sites with the plugin installed and active

Discovery Timeline

2025-03-03 - CVE-2025-23670 published to NVD
2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-23670

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a reflected cross-site scripting issue categorized under [CWE-79]. The plugin reflects user-controlled input back into HTTP responses without proper sanitization or output encoding. When a victim loads a crafted URL containing JavaScript payloads, the browser executes the script within the origin of the vulnerable WordPress site.

Reflected XSS in a donation plugin presents tangible risk. Administrators interacting with donation management pages can be targeted to escalate privileges, modify plugin settings, or pivot into other administrative actions. Visitors clicking shared links can have their sessions hijacked or be redirected to phishing pages.

The attack requires user interaction, which is typical for reflected XSS. The scope change indicates the vulnerability impacts resources beyond the vulnerable component, consistent with browser-side script execution affecting the user's session context.

Root Cause

The plugin fails to apply contextual output encoding when rendering user-supplied input back into HTML responses. WordPress provides sanitization functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), and wp_kses(), but the affected code paths in version 1.3 and earlier do not consistently apply them. As a result, raw input containing HTML or JavaScript syntax is rendered directly to the page.

Attack Vector

An attacker constructs a URL targeting a vulnerable endpoint of the plugin, embedding JavaScript within a query parameter that is reflected in the response. The attacker delivers the URL through phishing email, social media, or malicious advertising. When a victim clicks the link while authenticated to the WordPress site, the injected script executes with the victim's privileges.

The vulnerability manifests when the plugin's request handler echoes input parameters into the HTML response without escaping. See the Patchstack Security Advisory for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-23670

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP request logs containing URL parameters with <script>, javascript:, or HTML event handler strings such as onerror= and onload=
Unusual referrer values pointing to external phishing or attacker-controlled domains preceding requests to the plugin endpoints
Unexpected administrative actions on WordPress sites running the 4-author-cheer-up-donate plugin shortly after a user clicked an external link

Detection Strategies

Inspect web server access logs for requests to plugin paths containing encoded or raw script payloads
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with XSS detection rules tuned for WordPress plugin parameter abuse
Use Content Security Policy (CSP) reporting endpoints to capture inline script execution attempts that violate policy

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor administrative account activity for anomalous changes following user clicks on inbound links
Alert on requests to the vulnerable plugin endpoints containing suspicious characters such as <, >, or URL-encoded equivalents %3C and %3E
Track plugin version inventory across WordPress installations to identify hosts running version 1.3 or earlier

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-23670

Immediate Actions Required

Deactivate and remove the 4-author-cheer-up-donate plugin from all WordPress installations until a patched version is available
Force password resets for WordPress administrators who may have interacted with suspicious links
Invalidate active sessions to clear any potentially hijacked authentication cookies

Patch Information

No patched version has been published at the time of this advisory. All versions through 1.3 remain vulnerable. Monitor the Patchstack Security Advisory for vendor updates.

Workarounds

Remove the plugin entirely if donation functionality is non-essential
Deploy WAF rules that block requests containing common XSS payload patterns targeting the plugin's endpoints
Implement a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and restricts script sources to trusted origins
Educate administrators and editors to avoid clicking unverified links while authenticated to the WordPress admin panel

bash

# Example WAF rule (ModSecurity) blocking common XSS patterns on plugin paths
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-content/plugins/4-author-cheer-up-donate/" \
  "phase:2,deny,status:403,id:1002301,\
   chain,msg:'Block XSS attempts targeting CVE-2025-23670'"
  SecRule ARGS "@rx (?i)(<script|javascript:|onerror=|onload=)" \
    "t:none,t:urlDecodeUni"