Overview
A high-severity Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-12484, has been discovered in the Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress WordPress plugin. This plugin, designed to help users grow website traffic, email subscribers, and social followers, is affected in all versions up to and including 1.12.19. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input sanitization and output escaping of social media username parameters, allowing unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code into vulnerable pages. This code can then execute in the browsers of unsuspecting users who visit these pages.
Technical Details
The vulnerability is present due to the plugin failing to properly sanitize and escape user-supplied input for various social media username fields. Specifically, the `app/entry.php` and `app/rafflepress.php` files are implicated in the processing of these parameters without adequate security measures. An attacker can inject arbitrary JavaScript code within these fields, which will then be stored in the WordPress database. When a user accesses a page displaying the giveaway or contest with the malicious social media usernames, the injected script will execute in their browser. This can lead to a variety of malicious actions, including session hijacking, defacement, or redirection to phishing sites.
The vulnerable code areas include, but may not be limited to:
CVSS Analysis
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score for CVE-2025-12484 is 7.2, indicating a HIGH severity. This score reflects the following factors:
- Attack Vector (AV): Network (N)
- Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L)
- Privileges Required (PR): None (N)
- User Interaction (UI): Required (R)
- Scope (S): Changed (C)
- Confidentiality Impact (C): Low (L)
- Integrity Impact (I): Low (L)
- Availability Impact (A): Low (L)
The low attack complexity and no privileges required for exploitation, coupled with the ‘Changed’ scope and requirement for user interaction, contribute to the high severity rating. Successful exploitation can lead to compromised user accounts and potential defacement of the website.
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of this XSS vulnerability can have several significant impacts:
- Account Takeover: An attacker could steal user session cookies, allowing them to impersonate legitimate users and gain unauthorized access to their accounts.
- Website Defacement: Malicious scripts can be used to modify the content of the website, potentially damaging the site’s reputation.
- Redirection to Phishing Sites: Users could be redirected to phishing websites designed to steal their login credentials or other sensitive information.
- Malware Distribution: Attackers could inject scripts that download and execute malware on users’ computers.
- SEO Poisoning: Injecting malicious links can negatively impact the website’s search engine ranking.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
The recommended course of action is to update the RafflePress plugin to the latest version as soon as possible. Check the WordPress plugin repository for updates. If an update is not yet available, consider temporarily disabling the plugin until a patched version is released. Review the official RafflePress changelog and announcements for specific fixes related to CVE-2025-12484.
It is also crucial to implement robust security practices, including using a web application firewall (WAF) and regularly scanning your WordPress site for vulnerabilities.