CVE-2025-26769: Vertex Addons for Elementor XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-26769 Overview

CVE-2025-26769 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Webilia Inc. Vertex Addons for Elementor WordPress plugin (addons-for-elementor-builder). The flaw stems from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation [CWE-79]. It affects all plugin versions up to and including 1.2.0. An authenticated attacker with low privileges can inject malicious script payloads that persist in the application and execute in the browsers of other users who view the affected pages. The vulnerability requires user interaction and can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component due to the changed scope.

Critical Impact
Attackers with low-privilege accounts can inject persistent JavaScript into WordPress pages, enabling session theft, administrative account takeover, and defacement across site visitors.

Affected Products

Webilia Inc. Vertex Addons for Elementor (addons-for-elementor-builder)
All plugin versions from n/a through 1.2.0
WordPress installations using the vulnerable plugin

Discovery Timeline

2025-02-17 - CVE-2025-26769 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-26769

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the Vertex Addons for Elementor plugin, an add-on library that extends the Elementor page builder for WordPress. The plugin fails to properly sanitize and escape user-controlled input before persisting it to the database and rendering it in generated web pages. As a result, attacker-supplied HTML and JavaScript payloads are stored server-side and later reflected into the DOM without adequate encoding. When a victim loads an affected page, the injected script executes in the victim's browser under the site's origin. Because the attack scope changes, an exploit can impact both the plugin context and the surrounding WordPress application, including administrator sessions.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing output encoding and insufficient input validation on plugin fields exposed to contributors, authors, or similar low-privilege roles. WordPress functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), wp_kses_post(), or sanitize_text_field() are either not applied or applied inconsistently along the data flow between the widget configuration inputs and the rendered front-end markup.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access to the WordPress site and an authenticated account with at least low privileges. The attacker submits a crafted payload through a plugin widget or setting that stores content on the server. The payload persists and executes when another user, including an administrator, views the affected page. Because user interaction is required, common delivery techniques include sharing preview links or waiting for editorial review workflows to trigger rendering.

No verified public exploit code is available. Refer to the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Report for advisory details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-26769

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected <script> tags, on* event handler attributes, or javascript: URIs stored in WordPress post content, postmeta, or plugin option tables.
Outbound requests from browser sessions to unfamiliar domains shortly after loading pages rendered by the plugin.
New or modified WordPress administrator accounts appearing without a corresponding audit trail.

Detection Strategies

Query the wp_posts and wp_postmeta tables for payload patterns such as <script, onerror=, or onload= inside Elementor-serialized data.
Enable and review WordPress activity logs for suspicious edits performed by contributor, author, or editor accounts.
Deploy a Content Security Policy (CSP) in report-only mode to surface inline script executions triggered by injected payloads.

Monitoring Recommendations

Alert on any modification to plugin option rows and widget configurations authored by non-administrator accounts.
Monitor web server access logs for POST requests to Elementor editor endpoints originating from low-privilege sessions.
Correlate authenticated session activity with unusual admin-area navigation patterns that may indicate cookie theft.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-26769

Immediate Actions Required

Update Vertex Addons for Elementor to a version later than 1.2.0 once the vendor releases a fixed build.
Audit all contributor, author, and editor accounts and remove or rotate credentials for any unexpected users.
Review recently edited pages built with the plugin for injected scripts, HTML event handlers, or obfuscated payloads.

Patch Information

At the time of the last NVD update, the advisory lists all versions up to and including 1.2.0 as affected. Consult the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Report and the vendor's plugin page for current patch availability and apply the fixed version as soon as it is published.

Workarounds

Deactivate and remove the Vertex Addons for Elementor plugin until a patched release is available.
Restrict content editing capabilities to trusted administrator accounts and temporarily disable self-registration.
Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) rule to block requests containing common XSS payload signatures targeting Elementor endpoints.

bash

# Configuration example: enforce a restrictive Content Security Policy via .htaccess
Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'; object-src 'none'; base-uri 'self'; frame-ancestors 'self'"
Header set X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block"
Header set X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"