Critical Alert: Reflected XSS Found in CSV Sumotto WordPress Plugin (CVE-2025-13894)

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Overview

CVE-2025-13894 describes a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the CSV Sumotto plugin for WordPress. This vulnerability affects all versions of the plugin up to and including version 1.0. The flaw stems from insufficient sanitization of user-supplied input used within the $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] variable, leading to potential script injection on affected pages.

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability by crafting malicious URLs that, when clicked by a legitimate user, execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the user’s browser. This can lead to session hijacking, defacement of the website, or redirection to malicious sites.

Technical Details

The vulnerability resides within the csv_sumotto_settings.php file of the CSV Sumotto plugin. Specifically, the code utilizes the $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] variable without properly sanitizing or escaping it before rendering it in the HTML output. This allows an attacker to inject malicious JavaScript code into the URL, which is then reflected back to the user’s browser, executing the script.

A snippet of vulnerable code (approximate based on the linked source):


            <form method="post" action="<?php echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF']; ?>">
            ...
            </form>

The lack of input validation and output encoding enables the execution of arbitrary JavaScript code when a crafted URL containing a malicious payload is visited.

CVSS Analysis

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) assigns CVE-2025-13894 a score of 6.1 (Medium).

  • 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 (CI): Low (L)
  • Integrity Impact (II): Low (L)
  • Availability Impact (AI): None (N)

This score reflects the relatively easy exploitability of the vulnerability, requiring only user interaction to trigger the malicious script. The impact is considered low for Confidentiality and Integrity, and none for Availability.

Possible Impact

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to several adverse consequences:

  • Session Hijacking: An attacker can steal a user’s session cookies, gaining unauthorized access to their account.
  • Website Defacement: Malicious scripts can alter the content of the website, defacing it or displaying misleading information.
  • Redirection to Malicious Sites: Users can be redirected to phishing websites or other malicious domains.
  • Malware Distribution: The injected script can be used to deliver malware to unsuspecting users.

Mitigation/Patch Steps

  1. Update the Plugin: Check for an updated version of the CSV Sumotto plugin. If a patch is available (later than version 1.0), immediately update to the latest version.
  2. Disable the Plugin: If an update is not available, disable the plugin until a patched version is released.
  3. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF): A WAF can help detect and block malicious requests attempting to exploit this vulnerability.
  4. Input Sanitization/Output Encoding: If you are a developer maintaining this plugin, implement proper input sanitization and output encoding on all user-supplied data, especially when using $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] or similar variables. Use functions like esc_attr(), esc_html(), and sanitize_text_field() provided by WordPress.

References

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