CVE-2025-30623: wA11y Web Accessibility Toolbox XSS Flaw

CVE-2025-30623 Overview

CVE-2025-30623 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the wA11y – The Web Accessibility Toolbox WordPress plugin by Rachel Cherry. The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 1.0.3. An authenticated attacker with high privileges can inject malicious script payloads that persist within the plugin's data and execute in the browsers of users who load affected pages. The issue is tracked under [CWE-79] (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation).

Critical Impact
Stored XSS enables session theft, administrative action hijacking, and delivery of secondary payloads to WordPress users who load affected pages.

Affected Products

wA11y – The Web Accessibility Toolbox WordPress plugin, all versions up to and including 1.0.3
WordPress sites running the vulnerable plugin with authenticated privileged users
Any browser sessions rendering pages that include the unsanitized plugin output

Discovery Timeline

2025-03-24 - CVE-2025-30623 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-30623

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a stored cross-site scripting flaw in the wA11y – The Web Accessibility Toolbox plugin. The plugin fails to properly neutralize user-supplied input before writing it into pages generated for other users. An authenticated actor with high privileges submits a payload containing HTML or JavaScript. The payload is persisted by the plugin and later rendered without adequate output encoding.

Exploitation requires user interaction, and the resulting script executes in the context of the WordPress site. Because the scope is changed, the injected script can affect components outside the vulnerable plugin, including administrative interfaces served from the same origin. Successful exploitation can lead to session token theft, forced administrative actions, defacement, and pivoting into further WordPress compromise.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient sanitization and output encoding on plugin fields that accept administrative input. The plugin stores attacker-controlled content and echoes it back into rendered HTML without escaping metacharacters such as <, >, and quotes. This allows arbitrary script tags or event handlers to survive the storage and rendering pipeline.

Attack Vector

The attack is delivered over the network. An attacker who already holds a high-privilege WordPress account, such as an administrator or editor, submits a crafted payload through a plugin input surface. The payload is stored in the WordPress database. When another user loads a page that renders the stored value, the browser interprets the payload as executable script. Refer to the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Advisory for advisory details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-30623

Indicators of Compromise

Presence of <script> tags, on* event handlers, or javascript: URIs inside wA11y plugin configuration or content fields in the WordPress database.
Unexpected outbound requests from administrator browsers to attacker-controlled domains after loading pages containing plugin output.
WordPress audit logs showing plugin setting modifications by unusual accounts or from unusual IP addresses.

Detection Strategies

Query the wp_options and plugin-specific tables for HTML metacharacters and script fragments stored in wA11y-related keys.
Deploy content security policy (CSP) reporting to capture blocked inline script executions originating from plugin-rendered pages.
Correlate WordPress admin activity with browser telemetry to identify script execution following visits to plugin-managed pages.

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor WordPress plugin update status and flag hosts still running wA11y 1.0.3 or earlier.
Alert on privileged account logins from new geographies or user agents that precede changes to plugin configuration.
Track browser telemetry from administrator workstations for suspicious script activity on WordPress admin URLs.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-30623

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress installations running wA11y – The Web Accessibility Toolbox and confirm the installed version.
Disable the plugin on any site running version 1.0.3 or earlier until a patched release is applied.
Audit privileged WordPress accounts and rotate credentials for any account suspected of being misused to plant a payload.
Review recent plugin configuration changes and revert any entries containing unexpected HTML or script content.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, the Patchstack advisory lists the vulnerable range as up to and including 1.0.3. Administrators should consult the WordPress plugin repository and the vendor advisory for the current fixed release and apply it across all environments.

Workarounds

Restrict access to the WordPress admin interface using network controls or a web application firewall (WAF) rule set that blocks XSS payload patterns.
Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts on WordPress admin and public pages.
Limit high-privilege roles to a minimal set of trusted accounts and require multi-factor authentication for those accounts.

bash

# Configuration example: identify wA11y plugin version via WP-CLI
wp plugin get wa11y --field=version
wp plugin deactivate wa11y