CVE-2025-48316: Responsive Mobile-Friendly Tooltip XSS

CVE-2025-48316 Overview

CVE-2025-48316 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the ItayXD Responsive Mobile-Friendly Tooltip WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.6.6. Attackers with low-privileged authenticated access can inject persistent JavaScript payloads that execute in the browsers of users who view affected pages. The weakness is tracked under [CWE-79] (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation). The scope change indicated in the CVSS vector means the injected script can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component itself, including site administrators browsing the WordPress dashboard.

Critical Impact
Authenticated contributors can inject persistent JavaScript that executes in administrator sessions, enabling account takeover, privilege escalation, and site-wide compromise.

Affected Products

ItayXD Responsive Mobile-Friendly Tooltip WordPress plugin
All versions from initial release through 1.6.6
WordPress installations using the responsive-mobile-friendly-tooltip plugin

Discovery Timeline

2025-08-28 - CVE-2025-48316 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-48316

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a stored XSS flaw in the Responsive Mobile-Friendly Tooltip plugin for WordPress. The plugin fails to properly neutralize user-supplied input before rendering it inside generated HTML output on the front end. An authenticated attacker can supply crafted input through tooltip configuration fields. The malicious payload is persisted in the WordPress database and served to any visitor rendering the affected page.

Because the payload executes in the context of the vulnerable site, it can access cookies, session tokens, and the DOM. Exploitation requires user interaction, such as an administrator viewing content that renders the tooltip. The scope-changed impact means script execution in an administrator context can lead to full site compromise through creation of rogue admin accounts, plugin modification, or arbitrary content injection.

Root Cause

The plugin does not sanitize input during storage or escape output during page generation. Tooltip attributes accepting HTML-like content are rendered directly into the page markup without applying WordPress escaping functions such as esc_attr(), esc_html(), or wp_kses(). This omission allows arbitrary script tags and event-handler attributes to persist in the database and reach the DOM.

Attack Vector

An attacker with contributor-level access or higher authenticates to the WordPress site. The attacker creates or edits content that uses the tooltip plugin and inserts a JavaScript payload into a vulnerable tooltip field. When another user, typically an editor or administrator, views the affected page, the payload executes in their browser. The injected script runs with the privileges of the viewing user session.

No verified proof-of-concept code is available at the time of publication. Refer to the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Advisory for further technical detail.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-48316

Indicators of Compromise

WordPress wp_posts or wp_postmeta entries containing <script> tags, javascript: URIs, or event handlers such as onerror= and onload= in tooltip shortcode attributes
Unexpected creation of administrator accounts or modification of user roles following contributor activity
Outbound HTTP requests from administrator browser sessions to unfamiliar third-party domains after viewing plugin-rendered pages
Presence of the responsive-mobile-friendly-tooltip plugin at version 1.6.6 or earlier

Detection Strategies

Query the WordPress database for tooltip shortcode content matching common XSS patterns and event-handler attributes
Deploy a web application firewall rule that inspects POST requests to wp-admin/post.php and admin-ajax.php for script payloads targeting tooltip fields
Monitor Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for inline script execution originating from post content
Correlate low-privileged user content edits with subsequent administrator session anomalies

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress audit logging for post edits, plugin configuration changes, and user role modifications
Alert on new administrator account creation, especially following recent contributor or author activity
Track outbound network connections from authenticated administrator sessions for beacon-like patterns
Review plugin inventory regularly and flag vulnerable versions using automated vulnerability scanners

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-48316

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Responsive Mobile-Friendly Tooltip plugin to a version later than 1.6.6 once a patched release is available
Audit existing tooltip content in the WordPress database for injected scripts and remove malicious payloads
Restrict contributor, author, and editor accounts to trusted users only and enforce strong authentication
Review recent administrator activity logs for signs of session hijacking or unauthorized configuration changes

Patch Information

The vulnerability affects Responsive Mobile-Friendly Tooltip versions up to and including 1.6.6. Consult the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Advisory for the latest fixed version status and vendor guidance.

Workarounds

Deactivate and remove the Responsive Mobile-Friendly Tooltip plugin until a patched version is available
Deploy a WordPress-aware web application firewall with virtual patching rules for stored XSS in plugin fields
Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and restricts script sources to trusted origins
Limit content creation privileges and require editorial review of posts submitted by lower-privileged users

bash

# Configuration example: disable the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate responsive-mobile-friendly-tooltip
wp plugin delete responsive-mobile-friendly-tooltip

# Search post content for suspicious script patterns
wp db query "SELECT ID, post_title FROM wp_posts WHERE post_content REGEXP '<script|javascript:|onerror=|onload=';"