CVE-2025-48322 Overview
CVE-2025-48322 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability [CWE-79] in the Finn Dohrn Statify Widget plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions of Statify Widget up to and including 1.4.6. The plugin fails to properly neutralize user-supplied input before rendering it in generated web pages. An authenticated attacker with low privileges can inject persistent JavaScript payloads that execute in the browsers of users viewing the affected pages.
Critical Impact
Stored XSS allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in visitor and administrator browsers, enabling session theft, credential harvesting, and unauthorized actions performed with victim privileges.
Affected Products
- Finn Dohrn Statify Widget plugin for WordPress
- All versions from initial release through 1.4.6
- WordPress sites where the plugin is installed and active
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-08-28 - CVE-2025-48322 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-48322
Vulnerability Analysis
The Statify Widget plugin extends the Statify statistics plugin by displaying top-viewed pages in a WordPress sidebar widget. The vulnerability stems from improper output encoding when the plugin renders widget configuration values or stored data into HTML. Because the injected payload persists in the WordPress database, every visitor rendering the affected widget triggers the malicious script.
The scope-changed characteristic in the CVSS vector indicates the impact crosses trust boundaries. An attacker submitting content within the plugin context can affect other users, including administrators. User interaction is required, meaning a victim must load the page rendering the tainted widget content.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or insufficient sanitization and escaping of input during web page generation. WordPress provides helper functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), and wp_kses() for output encoding. The plugin does not apply these consistently to widget-controlled data before echoing it into the response HTML.
Attack Vector
An authenticated user with permission to configure widgets or contribute plugin-controlled data submits a payload containing HTML or JavaScript. The payload is stored server-side and later reflected without encoding when the widget renders. Any subsequent visitor loading a page containing the widget executes the injected script in their browser session under the site's origin.
Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the technical write-up.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-48322
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected <script> tags, event handlers such as onerror= or onload=, or javascript: URIs stored in the wp_options table entries associated with Statify Widget.
- Outbound HTTP requests from visitor browsers to unfamiliar domains originating from pages that render the widget.
- New or modified WordPress administrator accounts following widget configuration changes by low-privileged users.
Detection Strategies
- Audit the WordPress database for widget option values containing HTML tags, JavaScript keywords, or encoded payloads such as <script.
- Review web server access logs for POST requests to wp-admin/widgets.php or admin-ajax.php submitting suspicious widget content.
- Monitor browser Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for inline script executions on pages containing the widget.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable WordPress audit logging to record widget configuration changes and correlate them with the submitting user account.
- Track authenticated sessions performing widget updates, especially from contributor or editor roles.
- Alert on file integrity changes within the wp-content/plugins/statify-widget/ directory.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-48322
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the Statify Widget plugin to a version later than 1.4.6 when the vendor releases a patched release.
- If no patched version is available, deactivate and remove the plugin from all WordPress installations.
- Review widget configurations and stored plugin options for injected payloads and remove any suspicious content.
- Rotate WordPress administrator credentials if any evidence of exploitation is found.
Patch Information
At the time of publication, the vulnerability affects Statify Widget through version 1.4.6. Consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the latest fix status and vendor guidance.
Workarounds
- Restrict widget management capabilities to trusted administrators only by adjusting user roles and capabilities.
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block XSS payloads submitted to wp-admin/widgets.php and related admin endpoints.
- Implement a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and unauthorized external script sources.
- Remove the plugin entirely if it is not essential to site operations.
# Configuration example: WordPress-CLI commands to deactivate and remove the plugin
wp plugin deactivate statify-widget
wp plugin delete statify-widget
# Verify no residual options remain
wp option list --search='statify_widget*'
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.