CVE-2025-49392 Overview
CVE-2025-49392 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Themify Audio Dock WordPress plugin developed by themifyme. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 2.0.5 and is classified under CWE-79 for improper neutralization of input during web page generation. An authenticated attacker with high privileges can inject malicious JavaScript that persists in the database and executes in visitors' browsers. The stored payload runs within the security context of the WordPress site, enabling session theft, administrative action forgery, and redirection to attacker-controlled resources.
Critical Impact
Stored JavaScript payloads execute in the browsers of users viewing affected pages, exposing session data and enabling account takeover through victim interaction.
Affected Products
- Themify Audio Dock WordPress plugin versions through 2.0.5
- WordPress sites running the themify-audio-dock plugin
- Any site administrator or visitor rendering plugin-generated content
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-08-20 - CVE-2025-49392 published to the National Vulnerability Database
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-49392
Vulnerability Analysis
The Themify Audio Dock plugin fails to sanitize user-supplied input before rendering it in generated web pages. An attacker with elevated privileges submits crafted input containing HTML or JavaScript through plugin configuration fields. The malicious content is stored in the WordPress database and served to any user who loads a page containing the plugin's output.
Stored XSS differs from reflected variants because the payload persists across sessions and executes automatically. The scope-changed component of the vulnerability indicates the injected script can affect resources beyond the vulnerable plugin, including the broader WordPress administrative interface. Exploitation requires user interaction, meaning a victim must load the affected page for the payload to fire.
Root Cause
The vulnerability stems from missing output encoding and inadequate input sanitization in plugin fields that accept text. WordPress provides functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), and wp_kses() for neutralizing dangerous markup, but the plugin does not apply them consistently before rendering stored values into the DOM.
Attack Vector
An authenticated user with administrative privileges submits a payload such as an inline event handler or <script> tag into a configuration field within the plugin's settings interface. The payload is written to the database without neutralization. When any user renders a page that displays the field, the browser parses and executes the injected script under the origin of the WordPress site.
No verified proof-of-concept code has been published for this specific issue. Refer to the Patchstack advisory for additional technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49392
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected <script> tags, javascript: URIs, or inline event handlers (onload, onerror, onclick) stored in wp_options or wp_postmeta entries related to themify-audio-dock.
- Outbound requests from administrator sessions to unfamiliar domains shortly after loading pages containing the plugin.
- New or modified administrator accounts created without a corresponding audit-log entry from a legitimate admin action.
Detection Strategies
- Query the WordPress database for plugin option and meta rows containing suspicious substrings such as <script, onerror=, or document.cookie.
- Review web server access logs for POST requests to wp-admin/admin.php or options.php referencing themify-audio-dock parameters with encoded HTML.
- Deploy a Content Security Policy (CSP) in report-only mode to surface inline script executions that would violate a strict policy.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable WordPress audit logging to record configuration changes made by privileged accounts.
- Alert on administrative session activity originating from atypical geographies or user agents.
- Monitor for anomalous JavaScript execution and DOM modifications on WordPress admin pages using endpoint or browser telemetry.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49392
Immediate Actions Required
- Deactivate the Themify Audio Dock plugin on any site running version 2.0.5 or earlier until a patched release is verified.
- Audit all plugin settings, post meta, and options for previously injected scripts and remove malicious content.
- Rotate administrator credentials and invalidate active sessions if administrative accounts loaded affected pages.
Patch Information
At the time of the last NVD update, no fixed version is listed for the themify-audio-dock plugin. Consult the Patchstack advisory and the vendor's release notes for updated versions beyond 2.0.5.
Workarounds
- Restrict administrative access to a minimal set of trusted users and enforce multi-factor authentication for those accounts.
- Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) rule to block requests containing common XSS payload patterns targeting plugin endpoints.
- Apply a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and unsafe event handlers on WordPress pages.
# Configuration example
# Example CSP header to mitigate stored XSS execution
Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'; object-src 'none'; base-uri 'self'"
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
