CVE-2025-27314: Kush Micro News Stored XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-27314 Overview

CVE-2025-27314 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting the Kush Micro News WordPress plugin developed by Kush Sharma. The flaw stems from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation [CWE-79]. Attackers can inject malicious scripts that persist in the application and execute in the browsers of users who view affected pages. The vulnerability affects all versions of Kush Micro News from initial release through 1.6.7. Exploitation requires user interaction but no authentication, and the impact crosses security scopes as defined by the CVSS specification.

Critical Impact
Authenticated or unauthenticated attackers can store malicious JavaScript that executes in victims' browsers, enabling session theft, credential harvesting, and unauthorized actions in the WordPress admin context.

Affected Products

Kush Sharma Kush Micro News plugin for WordPress
All versions from initial release through 1.6.7
WordPress sites running the vulnerable plugin

Discovery Timeline

2025-04-17 - CVE-2025-27314 published to NVD
2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-27314

Vulnerability Analysis

The Kush Micro News plugin fails to properly sanitize and encode user-controlled input before rendering it within generated web pages. This allows an attacker to embed arbitrary HTML and JavaScript payloads that the application stores and later returns to other users. When a victim loads the affected page, the browser executes the injected script in the context of the WordPress site origin.

The vulnerability is classified under [CWE-79], which covers improper neutralization of input during web page generation. The CVSS scope change indicates that successful exploitation impacts resources beyond the vulnerable component, such as the visitor's browser session. The attack requires user interaction, typically by inducing an administrator or visitor to load a page containing the stored payload.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient output encoding in code paths that render attacker-controlled data. The plugin accepts input through one or more interfaces and writes it back into HTML without contextual escaping. Standard WordPress sanitization functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), or wp_kses() are either absent or applied incorrectly in the vulnerable code paths.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based with low complexity. An attacker submits a crafted payload containing HTML script constructs through an input surface exposed by the plugin. The payload is stored in the WordPress database and rendered on subsequent page loads. When a privileged user views the affected page, the injected script executes with that user's privileges, enabling actions such as cookie exfiltration, CSRF token theft, or administrative function abuse.

The vulnerability is described in the Patchstack Vulnerability Report. No public proof-of-concept exploit code has been published at the time of writing.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-27314

Indicators of Compromise

Presence of <script>, onerror=, onload=, or javascript: strings in plugin-managed database tables and post content
Unexpected outbound HTTP requests from administrator browsers to attacker-controlled domains following plugin page access
New or modified WordPress administrator accounts created shortly after viewing affected plugin pages
Unusual session activity or token reuse patterns originating from administrator IP addresses

Detection Strategies

Audit WordPress database content for HTML and JavaScript payloads stored in fields managed by the Kush Micro News plugin
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to identify XSS payload patterns in HTTP request bodies and query parameters
Enable Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reporting to surface unauthorized inline script execution attempts
Review web server access logs for POST requests to plugin endpoints containing suspicious encoded characters

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor WordPress audit logs for unexpected content changes by low-privilege accounts
Track plugin version inventory across all WordPress installations to identify systems running 1.6.7 or earlier
Alert on browser-side errors or CSP violations correlated with plugin URL paths
Continuously scan public-facing WordPress instances for the vulnerable plugin version using authenticated vulnerability scanners

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-27314

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress sites running the Kush Micro News plugin at version 1.6.7 or earlier
Deactivate and remove the plugin if a patched version is not available or if the plugin is no longer required
Review database content for previously injected payloads and remove any malicious entries
Rotate administrator credentials and invalidate active sessions if exploitation is suspected

Patch Information

No vendor-supplied patch is referenced in the available advisory data. Administrators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the latest remediation guidance and monitor the plugin's distribution channel for updates beyond version 1.6.7.

Workarounds

Remove the plugin until a fixed version is published by the maintainer
Implement a restrictive Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and untrusted script sources
Deploy WAF rules that block common XSS payload signatures targeting WordPress plugin endpoints
Restrict access to plugin administrative interfaces using IP allowlisting or HTTP authentication at the web server layer

bash

# Example WordPress CLI commands to identify and disable the vulnerable plugin
wp plugin list --name=kush-micro-news --fields=name,status,version
wp plugin deactivate kush-micro-news
wp plugin delete kush-micro-news