CVE-2025-46449: WoWHead Tooltips Stored XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-46449 Overview

CVE-2025-46449 is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the WoWHead Tooltips WordPress plugin developed by Novium. This vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of input during web page generation, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts that are persistently stored and executed when users view affected pages.

The WoWHead Tooltips plugin is designed to display tooltips for World of Warcraft game items and content on WordPress websites. Due to insufficient input sanitization, attackers with appropriate access can inject malicious JavaScript code that persists in the database and executes in the browsers of site visitors.

Critical Impact

Stored XSS vulnerabilities allow attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in victim browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, defacement, and malware distribution to site visitors.

Affected Products

• WoWHead Tooltips WordPress Plugin version 2.0.1 and earlier
• WordPress sites utilizing the wowhead-tooltips plugin
• All installations of WoWHead Tooltips from initial release through version 2.0.1

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-04-24 - CVE-2025-46449 published to NVD
• 2026-04-15 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-46449

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation), commonly known as Cross-Site Scripting. The Stored XSS variant is particularly dangerous because malicious payloads are permanently stored on the target server, typically in a database, and subsequently delivered to users who access the affected content.

In the context of the WoWHead Tooltips plugin, user-supplied input is not properly sanitized before being stored and rendered on WordPress pages. This allows an attacker to inject script content that will be executed in the context of other users' browsers when they view pages containing the malicious content.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in insufficient input validation and output encoding within the WoWHead Tooltips plugin. WordPress plugins that handle user input must implement proper sanitization using WordPress escaping functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), wp_kses(), and similar security measures. The failure to implement these controls before storing and rendering content creates the XSS condition.

Attack Vector

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by injecting malicious JavaScript code through plugin input fields or configuration options. When the poisoned content is stored in the WordPress database and later rendered on the frontend, the malicious script executes in the browsers of site visitors or administrators viewing the affected page.

Typical attack scenarios include:

• Injecting scripts that steal session cookies or authentication tokens
• Redirecting users to phishing sites or malware distribution pages
• Modifying page content to display fraudulent information
• Performing actions on behalf of authenticated administrators

The vulnerability requires the attacker to have access to input mechanisms within the plugin, which may vary based on plugin configuration and WordPress user roles.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-46449

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected JavaScript code or <script> tags appearing in plugin-related database fields
• Anomalous entries in WordPress wp_options or plugin-specific database tables
• Browser console errors indicating execution of suspicious scripts on pages using WoWHead tooltips
• User reports of unexpected redirects or popup behavior on affected pages

Detection Strategies

• Review plugin database entries for encoded or obfuscated script payloads
• Monitor WordPress error logs for unusual JavaScript execution patterns
• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to detect inline script execution attempts
• Utilize web application firewalls (WAF) to identify and block XSS payloads targeting the plugin

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging on WordPress administrative actions related to plugin settings
• Deploy browser-based XSS detection tools to identify client-side script injection
• Regularly audit plugin configuration and database entries for unauthorized modifications
• Configure SentinelOne to monitor for suspicious JavaScript execution patterns and DOM manipulation

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-46449

Immediate Actions Required

• Deactivate and remove the WoWHead Tooltips plugin (wowhead-tooltips) until a patched version is available
• Audit WordPress database for any stored malicious scripts in plugin-related tables
• Review user access and revoke unnecessary plugin modification permissions
• Implement Content Security Policy headers to mitigate XSS impact

Patch Information

At the time of this publication, all versions of WoWHead Tooltips through version 2.0.1 are affected. Administrators should monitor the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability database for updates regarding security patches from the vendor.

Consider alternative tooltip plugins that have better security track records if timely patches are not released.

Workarounds

• Disable the WoWHead Tooltips plugin entirely until a security update is available
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to filter XSS payloads targeting the plugin
• Restrict plugin configuration access to trusted administrators only
• Deploy Content Security Policy headers to limit inline script execution

# Add Content Security Policy header in .htaccess as a mitigation measure
# This helps reduce XSS impact by restricting script sources
Header set Content-Security-Policy "script-src 'self' https://wow.zamimg.com; object-src 'none'"