CVE-2025-31610 Overview
CVE-2025-31610 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the gingerplugins Notification Bar, Sticky Notification Bar, Sticky Welcome Bar for any theme WordPress plugin (gp-notification-bar). The flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.1. An attacker with high privileges can inject JavaScript payloads that persist in the plugin's configuration and execute in the browsers of users who load pages rendered with the notification bar.
Critical Impact
Stored XSS enables session hijacking, credential theft, and administrative action forgery against WordPress users who view affected pages.
Affected Products
- gingerplugins Notification Bar, Sticky Notification Bar, Sticky Welcome Bar for any theme
- Plugin slug: gp-notification-bar
- Versions: n/a through 1.1 (inclusive)
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-03-31 - CVE-2025-31610 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-31610
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability is classified under [CWE-79]: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation. The gp-notification-bar plugin stores administrator-supplied notification bar content without adequately sanitizing or encoding HTML and JavaScript. When the plugin later renders the notification bar on front-end pages, the unsanitized input is emitted directly into the DOM.
Exploitation requires an authenticated user with elevated privileges to submit malicious markup through the plugin's configuration interface. Because the scope changes from the admin context to any visitor viewing the site, the payload executes in a different security context, which is reflected in the scope-changed CVSS scoring. User interaction is required to trigger the payload, typically by loading an affected page.
The impact spans confidentiality, integrity, and availability at a limited level. Injected scripts can exfiltrate session cookies, perform actions on behalf of authenticated visitors, redirect users to attacker-controlled infrastructure, or deface rendered content.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing output encoding and insufficient input sanitization on notification bar configuration fields. The plugin does not apply WordPress sanitization primitives such as wp_kses_post() on input or esc_html() / esc_attr() on output, allowing raw <script> tags and event handler attributes to be persisted in the WordPress options table and reflected on rendered pages.
Attack Vector
The attack is network-based and requires authentication with high privileges, such as an administrator account. An attacker who has compromised or obtained such an account persists a JavaScript payload in the notification bar settings. Any front-end visitor who loads a page displaying the bar executes the payload in their browser session. This vector is commonly abused in supply chain scenarios or after credential compromise to establish persistent client-side control over a site's audience.
Refer to the Patchstack advisory for gp-notification-bar for additional technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-31610
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected <script> tags, on* event handlers, or javascript: URIs stored in the wp_options rows associated with the gp-notification-bar plugin.
- Outbound requests from visitor browsers to unfamiliar domains after loading pages that render the notification bar.
- New or modified administrator accounts created shortly after notification bar content changes.
Detection Strategies
- Query the WordPress database for plugin option values containing <script, onerror=, onload=, or javascript: substrings.
- Review WordPress audit logs for edits to notification bar settings made by unexpected accounts or from unusual IP addresses.
- Compare the current plugin file hashes and version against the vendor-shipped release to identify tampered installations.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable Content Security Policy (CSP) reporting to surface unexpected inline script execution on WordPress pages.
- Forward WordPress access and admin activity logs to a centralized analytics platform to correlate configuration changes with subsequent client-side anomalies.
- Alert on administrator logins from new geolocations or user agents preceding plugin configuration changes.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-31610
Immediate Actions Required
- Audit the gp-notification-bar plugin configuration for any stored HTML, script tags, or event handler attributes and remove suspicious content.
- Rotate credentials for all WordPress administrator accounts, and enforce multi-factor authentication.
- Restrict administrative access to trusted IP ranges through web server or WAF policy.
Patch Information
At the time of publication, the advisory lists all versions through 1.1 as affected without a fixed release identified. Monitor the Patchstack advisory and the plugin's WordPress.org listing for a patched version, and update as soon as one is published.
Workarounds
- Deactivate and remove the gp-notification-bar plugin until a patched version is available.
- Deploy a web application firewall rule that blocks requests containing script tags or JavaScript event handlers targeting the plugin's settings endpoints.
- Apply a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts on pages rendering the notification bar to neutralize injected payloads.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.