CVE-2025-49306: WP Social Widget Stored XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-49306 Overview

CVE-2025-49306 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the catchsquare WP Social Widget plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 2.3. Attackers with low-privilege authenticated access can inject persistent JavaScript payloads that execute in the browsers of users who view the affected pages. The vulnerability is tracked under CWE-79 for improper neutralization of input during web page generation.

Critical Impact
A low-privileged authenticated attacker can store malicious scripts in widget content, leading to session theft, account takeover, and unauthorized actions within the WordPress site.

Affected Products

catchsquare WP Social Widget plugin for WordPress
All versions from initial release through 2.3
WordPress sites with the wp-social-widget plugin installed and active

Discovery Timeline

2025-06-06 - CVE-2025-49306 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-49306

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from insufficient input sanitization and output encoding in the WP Social Widget plugin. User-supplied input passed to the widget configuration is stored in the WordPress database without proper neutralization. When the widget renders on a page, the malicious payload executes in the context of the victim's browser.

Because the issue is stored rather than reflected, the payload persists across sessions and affects every visitor to a page containing the compromised widget. Exploitation requires authenticated access with contributor-level or similar privileges and one user interaction to trigger the payload. The scope change indicates the injected script can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component, including other authenticated sessions such as administrators viewing the widget.

Root Cause

The plugin fails to apply WordPress sanitization functions such as sanitize_text_field(), wp_kses(), or esc_attr() on widget input fields before storage. On output, the stored values are echoed into the page HTML without corresponding escaping through esc_html() or esc_attr(). This double failure enables attacker-controlled markup and JavaScript to be persisted and rendered as executable content.

Attack Vector

An attacker with low-privilege access to the WordPress administration interface configures the WP Social Widget with a malicious payload embedded in a widget field. The payload is stored in the wp_options table. When an administrator or site visitor loads a page containing the widget, the browser parses and executes the injected script. Consult the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Report for additional advisory context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49306

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected <script> tags, event handlers such as onerror= or onload=, or javascript: URIs in WP Social Widget configuration values within the wp_options table
Outbound requests from visitor browsers to unfamiliar domains after loading pages that render the widget
Newly created administrator accounts or modified user roles following widget configuration changes

Detection Strategies

Review the WordPress wp_options table for widget entries containing HTML tags, JavaScript keywords, or encoded script payloads
Inspect rendered pages that display the WP Social Widget for anomalous DOM elements or unauthorized outbound network calls
Correlate widget configuration changes in WordPress audit logs with subsequent administrator session anomalies

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable a web application firewall with rules targeting stored XSS payloads in WordPress plugin endpoints
Log and alert on modifications to widget settings performed by contributor or author accounts
Monitor browser Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for scripts loading from unauthorized origins

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49306

Immediate Actions Required

Deactivate the WP Social Widget plugin until an updated version addressing CVE-2025-49306 is released and installed
Audit all widget configurations for injected HTML or JavaScript and remove any suspicious content
Rotate credentials for administrator accounts that may have viewed compromised widget output

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no fixed version is listed for the WP Social Widget plugin. Versions through 2.3 remain vulnerable. Monitor the Patchstack advisory and the plugin's WordPress.org page for updates.

Workarounds

Remove or replace the WP Social Widget plugin with a maintained alternative that provides equivalent functionality
Restrict contributor, author, and editor accounts from managing widgets by adjusting WordPress role capabilities
Deploy a strict Content Security Policy that blocks inline scripts and restricts script sources to trusted domains

bash

# Configuration example: disable the plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate wp-social-widget
wp plugin delete wp-social-widget