CVE-2025-48131: UltraAddons Elementor Lite Stored XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-48131 Overview

CVE-2025-48131 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the UltraAddons Elementor Lite plugin for WordPress, developed by Saiful Islam. The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 2.0.2. Authenticated attackers with contributor-level access can inject persistent JavaScript payloads that execute in the browser context of any user viewing the affected page. The vulnerability is tracked under [CWE-79]: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation.

Critical Impact
Stored XSS enables session hijacking, credential theft, and delivery of malicious payloads to site administrators and visitors through injected scripts stored in the WordPress database.

Affected Products

UltraAddons Elementor Lite plugin for WordPress
All versions from n/a through <= 2.0.2
WordPress sites using Elementor page builder with this add-on installed

Discovery Timeline

2025-05-16 - CVE-2025-48131 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-48131

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the UltraAddons Elementor Lite plugin, an add-on that extends Elementor with additional widgets and modules. The plugin fails to properly neutralize user-supplied input before rendering it as part of a web page. As a result, attacker-controlled input containing HTML or JavaScript is persisted server-side and later served to page visitors without sanitization or output encoding.

Successful exploitation requires an authenticated user with at least contributor-level privileges and additional user interaction to trigger the payload. Because the injected script executes within the site's origin, it can perform any action the victim is authorized to perform, including administrative actions if an admin views the compromised content. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Advisory for technical details.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient input validation and output escaping in one or more widget attributes exposed by UltraAddons Elementor Lite. Values submitted through Elementor's editor interface are stored in postmeta and echoed back into rendered pages without applying WordPress escaping functions such as esc_attr(), esc_html(), or wp_kses_post().

Attack Vector

An attacker with contributor or higher privileges edits a page or widget controlled by UltraAddons Elementor Lite and inserts a JavaScript payload into a vulnerable field. The malicious content is saved to the database. When another user, typically an administrator or logged-in editor, loads the affected page, the payload executes in their browser. The scope change indicates the injected script can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component itself.

No verified public proof-of-concept code is available for this issue. Refer to the Patchstack advisory for further technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-48131

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected <script>, <svg onload=, or javascript: strings stored in WordPress wp_postmeta rows tied to Elementor data keys such as _elementor_data.
Outbound browser requests from administrator sessions to unfamiliar domains immediately after loading pages containing UltraAddons widgets.
New administrator accounts, altered user roles, or unexplained changes to plugin and theme files following contributor content submissions.

Detection Strategies

Audit the wp_postmeta and wp_posts tables for HTML event handlers (onerror, onload, onclick) and script tags within Elementor-serialized content.
Review WordPress activity logs for content edits performed by contributor accounts on pages using UltraAddons Elementor Lite widgets.
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule set that inspects Elementor AJAX endpoints such as admin-ajax.php?action=elementor_ajax for script payloads.

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor administrator sessions for anomalous JavaScript execution, unexpected fetch() or XMLHttpRequest calls, and Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports.
Alert on modifications to plugin files, WordPress options, and user metadata originating from browser sessions rather than server processes.
Track privilege changes and new user creation events in the WordPress wp_users and wp_usermeta tables.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-48131

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress installations running UltraAddons Elementor Lite version 2.0.2 or earlier and prioritize remediation.
Restrict contributor and author account creation and audit existing low-privilege accounts for legitimacy.
Enforce a restrictive Content Security Policy that blocks inline script execution on the WordPress admin and front-end.

Patch Information

At the time of the last NVD update, no fixed version beyond 2.0.2 is referenced in the advisory. Consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Advisory and the plugin's WordPress.org page for the latest release status. If no patched version is available, consider deactivating and removing the plugin.

Workarounds

Disable UltraAddons Elementor Lite until a patched release is verified and deployed.
Apply virtual patching through a WAF that filters script tags and event handlers in Elementor widget parameters.
Reduce contributor and author permissions on affected sites, and require administrator review before publishing content that uses UltraAddons widgets.

bash

# Disable the vulnerable plugin using WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate ultraaddons-elementor-lite
wp plugin delete ultraaddons-elementor-lite

# Audit postmeta for stored script payloads
wp db query "SELECT post_id, meta_key FROM wp_postmeta \
  WHERE meta_value LIKE '%<script%' \
     OR meta_value LIKE '%onerror=%' \
     OR meta_value LIKE '%javascript:%';"