CVE-2025-46487: EC Authorize.net XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-46487 Overview

CVE-2025-46487 is a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the sftranna EC Authorize.net WordPress plugin (ec-authorizenet). The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 0.3.3. Attackers can craft malicious URLs that, when visited by an authenticated or unauthenticated user, execute arbitrary JavaScript in the victim's browser session. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 for improper neutralization of input during web page generation.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation allows attackers to execute arbitrary scripts in a victim's browser, enabling session theft, credential harvesting, and unauthorized actions within the WordPress administration interface.

Affected Products

sftranna EC Authorize.net WordPress plugin (ec-authorizenet)
All versions from initial release through 0.3.3
WordPress sites using the EC Authorize.net payment integration plugin

Discovery Timeline

2025-05-23 - CVE-2025-46487 published to NVD
2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-46487

Vulnerability Analysis

The EC Authorize.net plugin fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before reflecting it back in HTTP responses. When a user submits crafted parameters through a vulnerable endpoint, the plugin echoes the input directly into the generated HTML without contextual encoding. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript that executes in the victim's browser.

Reflected XSS attacks require user interaction. An attacker delivers a malicious link via phishing email, social media, or compromised websites. When the victim clicks the link, the injected payload executes with the privileges of the victim's session on the WordPress site.

The scope-changed impact indicates the vulnerability can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component itself. Attackers can leverage this to compromise administrator accounts, exfiltrate sensitive data, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing output encoding on user-controllable input parameters processed by the plugin. The plugin handler accepts request parameters and writes them into the response page without applying WordPress sanitization functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), or wp_kses(). This violates secure output practices required when rendering untrusted data in HTML contexts.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker constructs a URL containing a JavaScript payload in a vulnerable parameter and tricks a target into visiting it. The plugin reflects the payload into the response, and the browser executes the injected script within the origin of the WordPress site. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for technical specifics.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-46487

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP request logs containing <script>, javascript:, or URL-encoded payloads (%3Cscript%3E) in query parameters targeting ec-authorizenet endpoints
Unexpected outbound requests from administrator browsers to attacker-controlled domains following clicks on suspicious links
WordPress audit log entries showing administrative actions originating from unusual referrers or short time windows after link clicks

Detection Strategies

Review web server access logs for requests to ec-authorizenet plugin paths containing HTML metacharacters such as <, >, ", and ' in parameter values
Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with signatures for reflected XSS targeting WordPress plugins
Monitor browser-side Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for inline script execution attempts on pages served by the plugin

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress activity logging plugins to capture administrative actions and correlate them with referrer URLs
Alert on HTTP 200 responses where request parameters contain encoded script tags or on* event handlers
Track session anomalies such as administrative sessions established from new geolocations immediately after a suspicious URL visit

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-46487

Immediate Actions Required

Deactivate the EC Authorize.net plugin (ec-authorizenet) on all WordPress sites running version 0.3.3 or earlier until a patched release is verified
Audit WordPress administrator accounts for unauthorized changes, new users, or modified plugins and themes
Force password resets and session invalidation for all administrative users who may have clicked suspicious links

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no fixed version is referenced in the available advisory. Monitor the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the WordPress plugin repository for a vendor-supplied update beyond version 0.3.3.

Workarounds

Deploy a WAF rule that blocks requests to ec-authorizenet endpoints containing HTML or JavaScript metacharacters in parameter values
Implement a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and restricts script sources to trusted origins
Restrict access to the WordPress admin interface using IP allowlisting or VPN-only access to reduce the attack surface for administrators

bash

# Example WAF rule (ModSecurity) to block reflected XSS payloads
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains ec-authorizenet" \
    "chain,phase:2,deny,status:403,id:1004687,msg:'Block XSS attempts on EC Authorize.net plugin'"
SecRule ARGS "@rx (?i)(<script|javascript:|onerror=|onload=)" "t:none,t:urlDecodeUni"