CVE-2025-57932: PowerFolio Stored XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-57932 Overview

CVE-2025-57932 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Diego Pereira PowerFolio plugin (portfolio-elementor) for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 3.2.1. Authenticated attackers with low privileges can inject malicious scripts that persist in the database and execute in the browsers of users who view the affected pages. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 for improper neutralization of input during web page generation.

Critical Impact

Stored XSS in PowerFolio allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in visitor and administrator browser sessions, enabling session theft, account takeover, and content manipulation.

Affected Products

• Diego Pereira PowerFolio (portfolio-elementor) WordPress plugin
• All versions up to and including 3.2.1
• WordPress sites running PowerFolio with Elementor integration

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-09-22 - CVE CVE-2025-57932 published to NVD
• 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-57932

Vulnerability Analysis

The PowerFolio plugin extends Elementor with portfolio widgets and shortcodes. The vulnerability stems from improper sanitization of user-supplied input passed through plugin fields before being rendered in generated HTML output. Because payloads are stored in the WordPress database, they execute each time an affected page loads.

Exploitation requires an authenticated contributor or editor-level account. The scope change indicated in the CVSS vector reflects the ability of injected scripts to affect users beyond the attacker's own security context, including administrators viewing the portfolio content.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient output encoding when plugin-controlled attributes are rendered into HTML. Input passed through PowerFolio widgets is not escaped using WordPress functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), or wp_kses_post() before being written into the DOM. This allows script tags and event handlers to survive into the rendered response.

Attack Vector

An authenticated user with content-creation permissions crafts a portfolio item or widget containing JavaScript payloads in a vulnerable field. The plugin stores the payload without neutralization. When any site visitor, including higher-privileged administrators, loads the page rendering that content, the browser executes the script. This can be used to hijack authenticated sessions, exfiltrate cookies, perform actions on behalf of victims, or pivot to full site compromise if an administrator triggers the payload. Full technical context is available in the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-57932

Indicators of Compromise

• Portfolio posts or widget configurations containing <script>, onerror=, onload=, or javascript: payloads in title, description, or URL fields.
• Unexpected outbound requests from browser sessions of administrators visiting portfolio pages.
• Database entries in wp_postmeta for PowerFolio-controlled keys containing raw HTML or JavaScript.

Detection Strategies

• Audit posts and page content rendered by PowerFolio for HTML tags and event handler attributes in stored fields.
• Review WordPress access logs for POST requests to /wp-admin/post.php or Elementor editor endpoints originating from contributor or editor accounts introducing suspicious payloads.
• Inspect rendered HTML with a headless browser or scanner to identify unescaped user input reaching the DOM.

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor for the creation or modification of portfolio items by low-privileged accounts.
• Alert on browser Content Security Policy (CSP) violations for inline script execution on portfolio pages.
• Track anomalous administrator session activity following visits to public portfolio URLs.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-57932

Immediate Actions Required

• Update PowerFolio to a version later than 3.2.1 once the vendor publishes a patched release.
• Audit existing portfolio content for stored payloads and remove any suspicious HTML or JavaScript.
• Restrict contributor and editor role assignments to trusted users until the plugin is patched.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, PowerFolio versions through 3.2.1 are affected. Refer to the Patchstack advisory for the latest fixed version details and vendor guidance.

Workarounds

• Temporarily deactivate the PowerFolio plugin if a patched version is not yet available for your environment.
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) rule that filters common XSS payloads on requests to portfolio editor endpoints.
• Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that blocks inline scripts on pages rendering PowerFolio content.

# Example CSP header to mitigate inline script execution
Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'; object-src 'none'; base-uri 'self'"