CVE-2025-48151: CM Map Locations Plugin XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-48151 Overview

CVE-2025-48151 is a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the CreativeMindsSolutions CM Map Locations WordPress plugin (cm-map-locations). The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 2.1.6. Attackers exploit the issue by crafting a malicious URL that, when visited by an authenticated or unauthenticated user, executes attacker-controlled JavaScript in the victim's browser session. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 for improper neutralization of user input during web page generation.

Critical Impact
A successful attack can hijack browser sessions, steal authentication cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated WordPress administrators.

Affected Products

CreativeMindsSolutions CM Map Locations plugin for WordPress
All versions from initial release through 2.1.6
WordPress sites running the vulnerable cm-map-locations plugin

Discovery Timeline

2025-08-20 - CVE CVE-2025-48151 published to NVD
2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-48151

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a reflected XSS issue in the CM Map Locations plugin. The plugin accepts user-controlled input through HTTP request parameters and reflects that input back into rendered HTML without proper neutralization or output encoding. As a result, attacker-supplied JavaScript executes in the context of the WordPress site origin when a victim loads a crafted URL.

Reflected XSS requires user interaction, typically delivered through phishing links, social media, or malicious advertisements. Once executed, the payload runs with the privileges of the victim's session, enabling theft of cookies, CSRF token exfiltration, defacement, or pivoting to administrator-level actions if a logged-in administrator triggers the payload.

The CWE-79 weakness indicates the plugin fails to apply WordPress escaping functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), or wp_kses() before rendering parameter values to the response page.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing input sanitization and output encoding on one or more request parameters processed by the cm-map-locations plugin. User input flows directly from the HTTP request into the HTML response, allowing arbitrary script tags or event handlers to be injected and executed by the browser.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker crafts a URL containing a malicious payload in a vulnerable parameter and delivers it to a target. When the target visits the link on a site running the vulnerable plugin, the script executes within the site's origin. Because the CVSS scope is changed, the impact extends beyond the vulnerable component into the broader WordPress browser context. Refer to the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Advisory for technical specifics.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-48151

Indicators of Compromise

Web server access logs showing requests to plugin endpoints with suspicious query parameters containing <script>, javascript:, onerror=, or URL-encoded equivalents (%3Cscript%3E)
Outbound browser requests from authenticated WordPress sessions to attacker-controlled domains shortly after clicking external links
Unexpected creation of WordPress administrator accounts or modifications to plugin/theme files following XSS-triggered admin sessions

Detection Strategies

Inspect HTTP request logs for the cm-map-locations plugin paths and flag query strings containing HTML or JavaScript metacharacters
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with OWASP Core Rule Set rules for reflected XSS payloads targeting WordPress plugin endpoints
Monitor browser security telemetry and Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for inline script execution on pages served by the plugin

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose logging on the WordPress site and forward logs to a SIEM for correlation against known XSS payload signatures
Track plugin version inventory across all WordPress instances and alert on installations of cm-map-locations at version 2.1.6 or earlier
Audit administrator session activity for anomalous configuration changes that may indicate successful XSS-driven account takeover

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-48151

Immediate Actions Required

Update the CM Map Locations plugin to a version newer than 2.1.6 once a patched release is published by CreativeMindsSolutions
If no patched version is available, deactivate and remove the cm-map-locations plugin from affected WordPress installations
Force a logout of all WordPress administrators and rotate session cookies and credentials in case earlier exploitation occurred

Patch Information

At the time of publication, refer to the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Advisory for current patch availability. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 2.1.6. Site administrators should monitor the WordPress plugin repository and vendor communications for an updated release that applies proper escaping to user-controlled parameters.

Workarounds

Deploy a WAF rule that blocks requests to cm-map-locations endpoints containing HTML or JavaScript metacharacters in query parameters
Implement a strict Content Security Policy (CSP) that disallows inline scripts and restricts script sources to trusted origins
Restrict access to plugin pages using server-level authentication or IP allowlisting until a vendor patch is applied

bash

# Example NGINX rule to block common reflected XSS payloads targeting the plugin
location ~* /wp-content/plugins/cm-map-locations/ {
    if ($args ~* "(<|%3C)script|javascript:|onerror=|onload=") {
        return 403;
    }
}