CVE-2025-58023: Genealogical Tree Plugin Stored XSS Flaw

CVE-2025-58023 Overview

CVE-2025-58023 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability [CWE-79] affecting the akdevs Genealogical Tree plugin for WordPress. The flaw stems from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation. Authenticated attackers with low privileges can inject malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of other users viewing affected pages. The issue impacts all versions of the plugin up to and including 2.2.7.

Critical Impact
An authenticated attacker can store malicious JavaScript within the Genealogical Tree plugin, leading to session compromise, credential theft, or administrative actions performed under the context of a victim user.

Affected Products

akdevs Genealogical Tree WordPress plugin (genealogical-tree)
All versions from n/a through <= 2.2.7
WordPress installations with the vulnerable plugin activated

Discovery Timeline

2025-09-22 - CVE-2025-58023 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-58023

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the akdevs Genealogical Tree plugin, which builds genealogy visualizations from user-submitted data. Input fields accepted by the plugin are rendered back into web pages without sufficient sanitization or output encoding. This allows attackers to persist arbitrary HTML and JavaScript payloads within stored plugin data.

Exploitation requires authentication with low privileges and involves user interaction, as the injected payload executes when a victim loads the affected page. The scope is changed, meaning the injected script can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component, including the surrounding WordPress administrative interface.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of input during web page generation [CWE-79]. The plugin fails to apply WordPress sanitization functions such as sanitize_text_field() on input or esc_html() and esc_attr() on output. Attacker-controlled data flows directly from storage into the rendered DOM, enabling script execution in the context of the site origin.

Attack Vector

An authenticated attacker submits crafted input containing JavaScript payloads through plugin fields exposed to lower-privileged roles. The payload is stored in the WordPress database. When an administrator or another authenticated user views the affected genealogy page, the injected script executes with that user's privileges. Consequences include session token theft, forced administrative actions via CSRF-style requests, redirection to attacker-controlled infrastructure, or delivery of secondary payloads.

See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-58023

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected <script>, onerror, onload, or javascript: strings stored in Genealogical Tree plugin database tables
WordPress user accounts created outside normal provisioning workflows following administrator page views
Outbound HTTP requests from administrator browsers to unknown domains after loading genealogy pages
Modifications to WordPress options, themes, or plugins that do not correlate with legitimate admin activity

Detection Strategies

Audit plugin database tables for HTML tags or JavaScript event handlers in fields that should contain plain text
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule set that flags XSS payload patterns submitted to plugin endpoints
Review WordPress access logs for POST requests to Genealogical Tree endpoints originating from low-privileged accounts
Correlate administrator session anomalies with recent views of genealogy content

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress activity logging to record content edits, user role changes, and plugin configuration updates
Monitor Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for inline script execution on plugin-rendered pages
Alert on new administrator accounts, API key generations, or privilege escalations following plugin usage

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-58023

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress instances running the Genealogical Tree plugin at version 2.2.7 or earlier
Deactivate the plugin until a vendor-supplied patch is available and verified
Audit existing plugin content for injected scripts and remove malicious entries from the database
Rotate credentials and invalidate active sessions for administrators who viewed potentially tainted pages

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no fixed version has been listed in the referenced advisory. Monitor the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the plugin's WordPress.org page for an updated release addressing CVE-2025-58023. Apply the patched version as soon as it becomes available.

Workarounds

Restrict which user roles can submit or edit Genealogical Tree content, limiting exposure to trusted accounts only
Deploy a WAF with rules that block common XSS payloads targeting plugin endpoints
Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and untrusted script sources
Require multi-factor authentication for all WordPress accounts to reduce impact of session compromise

bash

# Example: WP-CLI command to deactivate the vulnerable plugin
wp plugin deactivate genealogical-tree

# Example: locate suspicious script tags in plugin postmeta
wp db query "SELECT meta_id, post_id FROM wp_postmeta WHERE meta_value LIKE '%<script%' OR meta_value LIKE '%onerror=%';"