CVE-2025-6757: WordPress Recent Posts Widget XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-6757 Overview

CVE-2025-6757 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability [CWE-79] in the Recent Posts Widget Extended plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 2.0.2. It stems from insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user-supplied attributes passed to the plugin's rpwe shortcode.

Authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher can inject arbitrary JavaScript into pages. The injected script executes in the browser of any visitor who loads the affected page, enabling session theft, forced redirects, or actions performed on behalf of higher-privileged users.

Critical Impact
A contributor-level account can plant persistent JavaScript that runs against every visitor, including administrators, enabling account takeover through session or cookie theft.

Affected Products

Recent Posts Widget Extended plugin for WordPress — all versions through 2.0.2
WordPress sites permitting contributor-level registration or with compromised low-privilege accounts
Any page or post rendering the rpwe shortcode with attacker-controlled attributes

Discovery Timeline

2025-09-06 - CVE-2025-6757 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-6757

Vulnerability Analysis

The Recent Posts Widget Extended plugin exposes an rpwe shortcode that accepts several attributes controlling how recent posts are rendered. In versions through 2.0.2, the plugin does not sanitize these attribute values on input, nor does it escape them when emitting HTML in the shortcode output.

An authenticated user with the contributor role or higher can add the shortcode to a post or page and supply attribute values containing HTML or JavaScript. When the page is rendered, the malicious payload is included verbatim in the response and executes in the browser of every visitor. Because payloads persist in post content, exploitation is one-shot: a single publish action produces recurring script execution.

The vulnerability crosses trust boundaries. The CVSS scope change reflects that a low-privileged content contributor can affect the security of unrelated users, including administrators viewing the same page.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing input validation and output escaping in the shortcode handler. Relevant code lives in includes/shortcode.php and the supporting helpers in includes/functions.php of the plugin. Attribute values reach HTML output without being processed through WordPress escaping functions such as esc_attr(), esc_html(), or wp_kses(). This is a textbook instance of Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation [CWE-79].

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access to the WordPress site and an authenticated session with contributor privileges or higher. No user interaction is required beyond a victim visiting an infected page. The attacker authors a post containing the rpwe shortcode with a malicious attribute value, submits it for publication or preview, and waits for other users to load the rendered page.

For technical details, see the WordPress Plugin Shortcode File, the WordPress Plugin Functions File, and the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-6757

Indicators of Compromise

Posts or pages containing the rpwe shortcode with attribute values that include <script>, on*= event handlers, javascript: URIs, or encoded equivalents.
Unexpected outbound requests from browser sessions of administrators or editors shortly after viewing content authored by contributor accounts.
New or modified posts by contributor-level accounts that render script content when previewed.
Administrator account changes, password resets, or new privileged users created immediately after a browsing session.

Detection Strategies

Query the wp_posts table for post_content values matching the rpwe shortcode combined with suspicious characters such as <, >, or javascript:.
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that inspects shortcode attributes on POST requests to wp-admin/post.php and wp-admin/admin-ajax.php.
Enable Content Security Policy (CSP) reporting to surface script executions from unexpected sources on rendered pages.
Review Wordfence or comparable plugin scanner output for the identifier 3b70f48f-76a6-459c-8108-3ca008471534.

Monitoring Recommendations

Audit contributor and author account activity, focusing on newly published or edited posts.
Log and alert on the installation and version state of the Recent Posts Widget Extended plugin across managed WordPress instances.
Monitor administrator sessions for anomalous API calls following visits to contributor-authored pages.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-6757

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Recent Posts Widget Extended plugin to a version later than 2.0.2 as soon as the vendor publishes a fix.
If no patched version is available, deactivate and remove the plugin on production sites.
Audit all posts and pages for existing rpwe shortcodes and inspect their attribute values.
Rotate credentials and session tokens for administrator and editor accounts if exploitation is suspected.

Patch Information

At publication time, the vulnerability is confirmed present in versions up to and including 2.0.2. Consult the WordPress Plugin Developer Page for current release information and apply the latest available version. Verify plugin integrity after update and confirm the affected shortcode handler now escapes attribute values.

Workarounds

Restrict the ability to publish or edit posts to trusted users only; remove the contributor role from untrusted accounts.
Use a role editor plugin to strip shortcode usage rights from lower-privileged roles until a patched release is available.
Deploy a WAF rule that blocks HTML control characters within rpwe shortcode attribute values submitted to the WordPress editor endpoints.
Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts on front-end pages, reducing the impact of stored XSS payloads.

bash

# Configuration example: disable the plugin via WP-CLI until a patched version is available
wp plugin deactivate recent-posts-widget-extended
wp plugin delete recent-posts-widget-extended

# Search database for existing rpwe shortcodes for manual review
wp db query "SELECT ID, post_title, post_author FROM wp_posts WHERE post_content LIKE '%[rpwe%' AND post_status IN ('publish','draft','pending');"