CVE-2025-47449: Meow Gallery Stored XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-47449 Overview

CVE-2025-47449 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Meow Gallery plugin for WordPress, developed by Jordy Meow. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 5.2.7. An authenticated attacker with high privileges can inject persistent JavaScript payloads that execute in the browsers of users who view affected gallery content. The vulnerability is tracked under CWE-79, Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation.

Critical Impact
Stored XSS enables session theft, administrative action hijacking, and malicious redirects against visitors of WordPress sites running Meow Gallery <= 5.2.7.

Affected Products

Jordy Meow Meow Gallery plugin for WordPress
Meow Gallery versions through 5.2.7
WordPress installations using the meow-gallery plugin

Discovery Timeline

2025-05-07 - CVE CVE-2025-47449 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-47449

Vulnerability Analysis

The Meow Gallery plugin fails to properly neutralize user-supplied input before rendering it within WordPress-generated web pages. An authenticated user with elevated privileges can submit crafted input through plugin fields that accept gallery metadata or configuration values. The injected payload is stored in the WordPress database and later rendered without adequate output encoding or sanitization.

When another user, including a site administrator or logged-in visitor, loads a page containing the malicious gallery content, the stored JavaScript executes in their browser session. This creates a persistent attack vector that does not require repeated interaction from the attacker. Successful exploitation can lead to cookie theft, forced administrative actions, or redirection to attacker-controlled infrastructure.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient output escaping in the plugin's rendering logic. User-controlled values stored by the plugin are placed into HTML contexts without applying WordPress sanitization functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), or wp_kses(). This allows HTML and JavaScript syntax to break out of the intended rendering context.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires authenticated access with high privileges plus user interaction from a victim. The scope is changed, meaning the vulnerability can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component. The attacker stores a payload through the plugin interface, then waits for a privileged victim to view the content. The EPSS score is 0.267% with a percentile of 17.236, indicating low observed exploitation activity.

No verified public proof-of-concept code is available. Technical details are documented in the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-47449

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected <script>, onerror, or onload attributes stored in WordPress wp_posts or wp_postmeta tables tied to gallery entries
Outbound requests from administrator browsers to unknown domains after visiting gallery pages
New or modified administrator accounts created shortly after a privileged user viewed gallery content

Detection Strategies

Review Meow Gallery entries for HTML tags, event handlers, or encoded JavaScript in title, caption, and configuration fields
Scan page output for script content that originates from plugin-rendered gallery blocks rather than theme templates
Correlate WordPress audit logs for gallery modifications performed by non-standard editor or administrator accounts

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress security plugins that log changes to plugin-managed content and surface anomalous HTML in stored fields
Monitor web server access logs for repeated requests to gallery pages from the same session following a content update
Alert on administrator session cookies being used from unexpected IP addresses or geolocations after gallery activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-47449

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Meow Gallery plugin to a version later than 5.2.7 as soon as a vendor-released patch becomes available
Audit all gallery entries created or modified by non-administrator accounts for suspicious HTML or script content
Restrict plugin editing permissions to trusted administrators only and rotate credentials for accounts that could have inserted malicious payloads

Patch Information

At the time of publication, the vulnerability affects Meow Gallery versions through 5.2.7. Consult the Patchstack advisory and the official WordPress plugin repository for the latest fixed release and apply it through the WordPress admin dashboard or wp-cli.

Workarounds

Temporarily deactivate the Meow Gallery plugin until a patched version is installed
Deploy a web application firewall rule to block requests containing script tags or event handler attributes targeting plugin endpoints
Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts on pages rendering gallery content

bash

# Update Meow Gallery via wp-cli once a patched release is published
wp plugin update meow-gallery

# Verify installed version
wp plugin get meow-gallery --field=version