CVE-2025-31101: VaultRE Contact Form 7 Stored XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-31101 Overview

CVE-2025-31101 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the VaultRE Contact Form 7 WordPress plugin developed by Vault Group Pty Ltd. The vulnerability results from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation, classified as [CWE-79]. Affected versions include all releases up to and including version 1.0. An authenticated attacker with high privileges can inject malicious script content that persists in the plugin's stored data. When another user renders the affected page, the injected script executes in their browser session, enabling session compromise or unauthorized actions.

Critical Impact

Stored script payloads persist across sessions and execute in the browsers of users who load the affected pages, enabling account takeover paths and content manipulation within the WordPress site.

Affected Products

• Vault Group Pty Ltd VaultRE Contact Form 7 plugin for WordPress
• All versions from initial release through 1.0
• WordPress installations with the plugin enabled

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-03-27 - CVE-2025-31101 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
• 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-31101

Vulnerability Analysis

The flaw resides in how the VaultRE Contact Form 7 plugin processes user-controlled input before rendering it back into WordPress pages. Input is stored in the database without adequate sanitization or output encoding. When the stored content is later rendered, the browser interprets the injected markup as executable JavaScript. Exploitation requires authenticated access with elevated privileges and a subsequent user interaction to trigger the payload. Because the scope changes when the payload executes (CVSS scope: Changed), impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component to other users of the WordPress installation.

Root Cause

The plugin fails to apply WordPress sanitization helpers such as sanitize_text_field(), wp_kses(), or context-appropriate escape functions like esc_html() and esc_attr() when handling form-related configuration or submitted data. Persistent storage of raw input allows script tags and event handlers to survive to render time.

Attack Vector

An attacker with administrative or equivalent privileges submits a crafted payload through a plugin field that accepts free-form text. The payload is stored in the WordPress database. When a legitimate user loads a page containing the injected content, the browser executes the script under the site's origin. This can be used to steal session cookies, perform CSRF-style state changes, or pivot to further privilege abuse.

No verified proof-of-concept code is publicly available. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-31101

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected <script> tags, javascript: URIs, or DOM event handlers (onerror, onload) stored in plugin database tables or wp_options entries related to VaultRE Contact Form 7.
• Outbound HTTP requests from user browsers to unfamiliar domains after loading pages rendered by the plugin.
• Anomalous administrative actions performed under legitimate session cookies without corresponding user activity.

Detection Strategies

• Audit WordPress database entries associated with the plugin for HTML or script markup that should not appear in configuration fields.
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule set that flags stored XSS payload patterns in POST requests targeting /wp-admin/ endpoints.
• Review browser Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for inline script executions on pages containing the plugin's output.

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable WordPress audit logging to track configuration changes made by administrative accounts.
• Monitor authentication logs for anomalous privileged logins that precede plugin configuration updates.
• Correlate web server access logs with database change events to identify the origin of injected content.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-31101

Immediate Actions Required

• Disable the VaultRE Contact Form 7 plugin until a patched release is confirmed available from the vendor.
• Restrict administrative access to the WordPress site and enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all privileged accounts.
• Review recent changes to plugin configuration and content for injected script markup, and remove any suspicious entries.

Patch Information

As of the last NVD update on 2026-06-17, no fixed version is listed. Monitor the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the vendor for a release later than version 1.0 and apply it once available.

Workarounds

• Remove the plugin from production installations if the functionality is not business-critical.
• Implement a strict Content Security Policy (CSP) that blocks inline scripts and restricts script sources to trusted origins.
• Deploy WAF rules that inspect and sanitize plugin-related POST parameters for HTML and JavaScript payloads.

# Example CSP header restricting inline script execution
Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'; object-src 'none'; base-uri 'self'"