CVE-2025-30559: Kento WordPress Stats XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-30559 Overview

CVE-2025-30559 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the PluginsPoint Kento WordPress Stats plugin (kento-wp-stats). The flaw stems from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation [CWE-79]. Attackers can inject persistent JavaScript payloads that execute in the browsers of users who view affected pages.

The vulnerability affects all versions of Kento WordPress Stats up to and including 1.1. Successful exploitation requires user interaction but no authentication, and the impact crosses security scopes within the WordPress installation.

Critical Impact

Stored XSS in the Kento WordPress Stats plugin allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in administrators' browsers, enabling session theft, account takeover, and site compromise.

Affected Products

• PluginsPoint Kento WordPress Stats plugin (kento-wp-stats) versions through 1.1
• WordPress installations with the affected plugin enabled
• Administrator and visitor browsers rendering affected pages

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-04-01 - CVE-2025-30559 published to NVD
• 2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-30559

Vulnerability Analysis

The Kento WordPress Stats plugin fails to sanitize user-controlled input before storing it and rendering it back into web pages. This omission permits Stored XSS, where malicious script content persists in the database and executes whenever a user loads the affected view.

Because the issue affects a statistics plugin, payloads can be planted through tracked request parameters, referrers, or other recorded telemetry that the plugin displays in its administrative or front-end views. The scope-changing nature of the flaw indicates that injected scripts execute outside the security context of the vulnerable component, typically the WordPress admin interface.

The Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) currently rates this issue at 0.185%, reflecting limited observed exploitation activity at the time of publication.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or inadequate output encoding in the plugin's rendering paths. Inputs flow from request data into stored records, then back into HTML responses without escaping for the HTML context, violating standard WordPress sanitization practices such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), and wp_kses().

Attack Vector

An unauthenticated attacker submits a crafted request containing JavaScript payload data to a tracked endpoint. The plugin records the malicious value. When an administrator later views the statistics dashboard or another page that renders the recorded data, the payload executes in the administrator's session. This enables cookie theft, forced administrative actions, or insertion of backdoor accounts.

For technical specifics, refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-30559

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected <script>, onerror=, or onload= substrings in plugin database tables associated with kento-wp-stats.
• Outbound requests from administrator browsers to attacker-controlled domains immediately after loading the plugin's dashboard.
• Newly created WordPress administrator accounts or modified user roles with no corresponding admin activity.

Detection Strategies

• Inspect HTTP request logs for parameters submitted to plugin endpoints containing HTML or JavaScript syntax such as <script, javascript:, or event-handler attributes.
• Query plugin tables and options for stored values containing markup that should not exist in statistics records.
• Monitor for anomalous DOM modifications or script execution within WordPress admin pages using browser-side telemetry.

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable a Web Application Firewall (WAF) ruleset that flags XSS payloads targeting WordPress plugin endpoints.
• Review WordPress audit logs for administrator session activity that does not match normal user behavior patterns.
• Track plugin version inventory across managed WordPress sites to confirm upgrade status.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-30559

Immediate Actions Required

• Disable or remove the Kento WordPress Stats plugin until a fixed version is confirmed installed.
• Audit existing statistics records for stored payloads and purge any entries containing HTML or script content.
• Rotate WordPress administrator credentials and invalidate active sessions if exploitation is suspected.

Patch Information

At publication time, the vulnerability affects all versions through 1.1, and no fixed release is referenced in the NVD record. Site operators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the latest remediation status and apply any vendor update as soon as it is published.

Workarounds

• Deploy WAF rules that block requests containing common XSS signatures targeting the plugin's endpoints.
• Restrict access to the WordPress admin interface to known IP ranges using server-level controls.
• Apply a strict Content-Security-Policy (CSP) header to limit inline script execution in the admin area.

# Example: disable the plugin via WP-CLI until a patched version is available
wp plugin deactivate kento-wp-stats
wp plugin delete kento-wp-stats