Overview
A critical security vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-13068, has been discovered in the Telegram Bot & Channel plugin for WordPress. This flaw is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability present in versions up to and including 4.1. Due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping of the Telegram username field, unauthenticated attackers can inject malicious JavaScript code into the WordPress database. This code is then executed in the browsers of users who access affected pages, potentially leading to account compromise, data theft, or other malicious activities.
Technical Details
The vulnerability stems from the lack of proper sanitization and escaping of the Telegram username input within the plugin’s settings or user profile integration. Specifically, when a user (or attacker) enters a malicious script into the Telegram username field, this script is stored directly into the WordPress database without being properly cleansed. When the plugin displays this username on a web page (e.g., in a user profile, comments section, or within the bot/channel display), the stored script is executed in the user’s browser. The problematic code is located around line 45 in the `columns.php` file in versions tagged 4.1.
CVSS Analysis
This vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS score of 7.2, indicating a HIGH severity. The CVSS vector is likely AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N. This translates to:
- Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – The vulnerability is exploitable over the network.
- Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – Exploitation requires little to no specialized skill.
- Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – An attacker does not need any privileges to exploit the vulnerability.
- User Interaction (UI): Required (R) – User interaction is required (e.g., clicking a malicious link or viewing a page containing the injected script).
- Scope (S): Changed (C) – An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the vulnerability’s authority.
- Confidentiality Impact (C): Low (L) – Limited information disclosure.
- Integrity Impact (I): Low (L) – Limited modification of data.
- Availability Impact (A): None (N) – No impact on system availability.
Possible Impact
The exploitation of this XSS vulnerability can have several severe consequences:
- Account Takeover: An attacker could potentially steal user cookies and hijack user accounts.
- Malware Distribution: The injected script could redirect users to malicious websites or trigger the download of malware.
- Defacement: An attacker could modify the content of the affected page, defacing the website.
- Information Theft: Sensitive information displayed on the affected page could be stolen.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
To mitigate the risk posed by CVE-2025-13068, it is crucial to take the following steps:
- Update the Plugin: Immediately update the Telegram Bot & Channel plugin to the latest version. Check the WordPress plugin repository for updates. If no update is available, consider temporarily disabling the plugin until a patched version is released.
- Review User Data: Examine existing Telegram usernames for any suspicious characters or script-like code. If found, manually sanitize or remove the malicious data.
- Implement Input Validation: If you are a developer of the plugin, implement robust input validation and output encoding/escaping to prevent future XSS vulnerabilities. Ensure that all user-supplied data is properly sanitized before being stored in the database and escaped before being displayed on a web page.
References
- CVE ID: CVE-2025-13068
- WordPress Plugin Trac: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/telegram-bot/tags/4.1/columns.php#L45
- Wordfence Threat Intelligence: https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/fe4774ee-16f2-478f-92e3-8a7da7b30336?source=cve
