CVE-2025-6460: WordPress Display During Conditional XSS

CVE-2025-6460 Overview

The Display During Conditional Shortcode plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) via the message parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.2. This vulnerability arises due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping, allowing authenticated attackers with Contributor-level access and above to inject arbitrary web scripts into pages. These malicious scripts execute whenever a user accesses an injected page, potentially compromising user sessions, stealing credentials, or performing unauthorized actions.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers can persist malicious JavaScript code within WordPress pages, affecting all users who view the compromised content and potentially leading to account takeover or data theft.

Affected Products

• Display During Conditional Shortcode plugin for WordPress version 1.2 and earlier
• WordPress installations using vulnerable versions of this plugin

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-18 - CVE CVE-2025-6460 published to NVD
• 2026-02-18 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-6460

Vulnerability Analysis

This Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability (CWE-79) exists within the Display During Conditional Shortcode plugin's handling of the message parameter. The plugin fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input and escape output when rendering shortcode content, creating a persistent attack vector.

When an authenticated user with Contributor-level privileges or higher creates or modifies content using the plugin's shortcode functionality, malicious JavaScript can be embedded within the message parameter. This script is then stored in the WordPress database and executed in the browsers of any user who views the affected page, running within the security context of the victim's session.

The attack requires no user interaction beyond normal page viewing, making it particularly dangerous for sites with high traffic or privileged administrative users who may visit compromised pages.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the lack of proper input sanitization and output escaping in the plugin's shortcode rendering logic. The message parameter accepts user-controlled content that is directly rendered to the page without adequate security filtering. WordPress provides functions like wp_kses(), esc_html(), and esc_attr() specifically for sanitizing and escaping output, but these safeguards were not properly implemented for the vulnerable parameter.

Attack Vector

An attacker with at least Contributor-level access to a WordPress site can exploit this vulnerability through the following attack flow:

1. The attacker authenticates to the WordPress site with Contributor or higher privileges
2. The attacker creates or edits a post/page containing the Display During Conditional Shortcode
3. Within the shortcode's message parameter, the attacker injects malicious JavaScript code
4. When the content is saved, the malicious payload is stored in the WordPress database
5. Any user (including administrators) who views the page triggers the script execution
6. The malicious script runs with the victim's session privileges, enabling session hijacking, credential theft, or administrative action execution

The vulnerability is accessible over the network and requires low privileges (Contributor-level), making it a viable attack path for insider threats or compromised low-privilege accounts.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-6460

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected JavaScript code or <script> tags within post content using Display During Conditional Shortcode
• Unusual HTML event handlers (e.g., onerror, onload, onclick) embedded in shortcode parameters
• Browser console errors or unexpected network requests when viewing pages with the affected shortcode
• User reports of suspicious behavior, pop-ups, or redirects when viewing specific pages

Detection Strategies

• Review WordPress posts and pages for suspicious content within Display During Conditional Shortcode usage
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect XSS patterns in form submissions
• Monitor database queries for injection patterns in the wp_posts table content
• Enable logging of content modifications by Contributor-level users

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure WordPress security plugins to scan for malicious script patterns in stored content
• Enable real-time monitoring for changes to posts and pages, especially from lower-privilege users
• Set up alerts for unusual JavaScript patterns or encoded strings in post content
• Review access logs for suspicious editing activity from Contributor accounts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-6460

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Display During Conditional Shortcode plugin to a patched version (post-1.2)
• Review all existing content using this shortcode for malicious injections
• Temporarily disable the plugin if an update is not immediately available
• Audit Contributor-level and above user accounts for unauthorized access

Patch Information

A security patch has been released for this vulnerability. The fix can be reviewed in the WordPress Plugin Changeset. Site administrators should update the Display During Conditional Shortcode plugin to the latest available version through the WordPress admin dashboard or by downloading directly from the WordPress plugin repository.

For detailed vulnerability analysis, refer to the Wordfence Vulnerability Analysis.

Workarounds

• Restrict Contributor-level user permissions until the plugin is updated
• Use a Web Application Firewall to filter XSS payloads in form submissions
• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to mitigate the impact of successful XSS attacks
• Consider temporarily replacing the plugin functionality with an alternative solution

# WordPress CLI command to disable the vulnerable plugin
wp plugin deactivate display-during-conditional-shortcode

# Search for potentially malicious content in posts
wp db query "SELECT ID, post_title FROM wp_posts WHERE post_content LIKE '%<script%' OR post_content LIKE '%onerror%' OR post_content LIKE '%javascript:%'"