CVE-2025-8619: OSM Map Widget for Elementor XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-8619 Overview

CVE-2025-8619 is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the OSM Map Widget for Elementor plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.3.0. It stems from insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user-supplied attributes in the plugin's Map Block URL field. Authenticated users with contributor-level access or higher can inject arbitrary JavaScript into pages. The injected script executes in the browser of any visitor who views the affected page. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79.

Critical Impact
Authenticated contributors can store malicious JavaScript in Map Block URL attributes, enabling session theft, administrative account takeover, and malicious redirects when victims view the compromised page.

Affected Products

OSM Map Widget for Elementor plugin for WordPress — all versions through 1.3.0
WordPress sites with contributor-level or higher user registration enabled
Any Elementor-based WordPress site using the OSM Map Widget

Discovery Timeline

2025-08-29 - CVE-2025-8619 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-10-18 - Last updated in the NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-8619

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the Map Block rendering logic of the OSM Map Widget for Elementor plugin. The plugin accepts a user-supplied URL attribute for the Map Block but fails to properly sanitize input on write or escape output on render. An authenticated user with contributor permissions can supply a crafted URL value containing JavaScript payloads or HTML event handlers. The payload persists in post metadata and executes in the DOM when the page is rendered to any visitor. Because the script runs under the site's origin, it inherits full access to cookies, session storage, and the authenticated DOM context of viewing administrators.

The vulnerable code path can be observed in the plugin source at osm-map.php line 1753 for version 1.3.0 and the corrected path at line 1518 in version 1.3.1. See the WordPress OSM Map Plugin source for the pre-patch logic.

Root Cause

The root cause is a combination of missing input validation on the Map Block URL attribute and absent output escaping when the attribute is embedded in the rendered HTML. WordPress provides sanitization helpers such as esc_url(), esc_attr(), and wp_kses(), but the vulnerable version did not apply them to this attribute path. User-controlled data flows directly from post meta into the page markup.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires an authenticated account with contributor-level privileges or higher. The attacker edits or creates a post containing the OSM Map widget and injects a malicious payload into the Map Block URL field. When any user — including administrators — views the page, the script executes in their browser session. Successful exploitation can lead to session hijacking, credential theft via injected forms, forced administrative actions through CSRF chaining, or redirection to malware-hosting infrastructure.

No verified public exploit code is available for this vulnerability. Technical details are documented in the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-8619

Indicators of Compromise

Post or page metadata containing <script>, javascript:, or HTML event handlers such as onerror= or onload= within OSM Map widget URL attributes
Unexpected outbound requests from visitor browsers to attacker-controlled domains after rendering a page containing a Map Block
Newly created administrator accounts or unexpected privilege changes following contributor activity
Modified post content with revision history showing URL attribute changes by low-privilege users

Detection Strategies

Query the WordPress wp_postmeta table for Map Block entries containing script tags, javascript: schemes, or on*= event handler patterns
Review Elementor data stored in _elementor_data post meta for anomalous content in OSM Map widget attributes
Audit contributor and author account activity for unusual post edits involving the OSM Map widget
Monitor Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for inline script execution originating from post content

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress audit logging to track post edits, user role changes, and plugin configuration modifications
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to inspect post save requests for XSS payloads
Alert on contributor-level accounts creating or editing pages that contain Elementor widgets
Correlate authenticated POST requests to admin-ajax.php and /wp-json/wp/v2/posts with subsequent anomalous script execution

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-8619

Immediate Actions Required

Update the OSM Map Widget for Elementor plugin to version 1.3.1 or later immediately
Audit all existing posts and pages containing the OSM Map widget for malicious URL attribute values
Review contributor, author, and editor accounts for unauthorized or suspicious activity
Rotate administrator session cookies and enforce password resets if compromise is suspected

Patch Information

The vendor addressed the vulnerability in version 1.3.1 of the OSM Map Widget for Elementor plugin. The fix adds proper sanitization and escaping to the Map Block URL attribute. Compare the pre-patch code at osm-map.php line 1753 (v1.3.0) with the patched code at osm-map.php line 1518 (v1.3.1).

Workarounds

Deactivate the OSM Map Widget for Elementor plugin until the update can be applied
Restrict contributor and author role assignments to trusted users only
Deploy a Content Security Policy that blocks inline script execution on content pages
Configure a WAF to filter requests containing script tags or javascript: schemes in post payloads

bash

# Update the plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin update osm-map-elementor --version=1.3.1

# Verify installed version
wp plugin get osm-map-elementor --field=version

# Audit postmeta for suspicious Map widget content
wp db query "SELECT post_id, meta_key FROM wp_postmeta WHERE meta_value LIKE '%osm-map%' AND (meta_value LIKE '%<script%' OR meta_value LIKE '%javascript:%' OR meta_value LIKE '%onerror=%');"