Overview
CVE-2025-12746 identifies a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Tainacan plugin for WordPress. This vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 1.0.0. The plugin fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input in the search parameter, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to inject malicious JavaScript code into a vulnerable page. If a user clicks a specially crafted link containing the malicious code, the script will execute in their browser, potentially allowing the attacker to steal cookies, redirect the user to a phishing site, or deface the website.
Technical Details
The vulnerability stems from the insufficient input sanitization and output escaping of the search parameter. Specifically, the search parameter, when used in a URL, is not properly validated before being rendered on the page. This allows an attacker to inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript code into the page.
The problematic code is located within the template-tags.php file. The relevant code snippet (from version 1.0.0) likely resembles this:
<?php
//Potentially vulnerable code (example)
$search_term = $_GET['search'];
echo '<p>You searched for: ' . $search_term . '</p>';
?>
Note: The exact vulnerable code location may vary slightly, but the principle of unsanitized input from the search parameter remains the same.
CVSS Analysis
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) assigns the following score to CVE-2025-12746:
- CVSS Score: 6.1 (Medium)
- CVSS Vector: AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Breakdown:
- AV:N (Attack Vector: Network): The vulnerability is exploitable over the network.
- AC:L (Attack Complexity: Low): Exploiting the vulnerability requires little to no special access or circumstances.
- PR:N (Privileges Required: None): No authentication is required to exploit the vulnerability.
- UI:R (User Interaction: Required): User interaction is required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., clicking a malicious link).
- S:C (Scope: Changed): An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component.
- C:L (Confidentiality: Low): There is limited access to confidential information.
- I:L (Integrity: Low): There is limited modification of data.
- A:N (Availability: None): There is no impact to system availability.
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to:
- Steal user cookies: This can allow the attacker to impersonate the user and gain access to their WordPress account.
- Redirect users to phishing sites: The attacker can redirect users to malicious websites designed to steal their credentials or install malware.
- Deface the website: The attacker can modify the content of the affected page, potentially damaging the website’s reputation.
- Execute arbitrary JavaScript: This opens the door to a wide range of malicious activities, limited only by the attacker’s imagination and the browser’s security restrictions.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
The recommended mitigation steps are as follows:
- Update the Tainacan plugin: Upgrade to the latest version of the Tainacan plugin as soon as a patched version is released. Check the WordPress plugin repository or the Tainacan website for updates.
- Disable the plugin: If an update is not immediately available, consider temporarily disabling the Tainacan plugin until a patch is released.
- Web Application Firewall (WAF): Implement a WAF with rules to detect and block XSS attacks targeting the
searchparameter.
