CVE-2025-9856
Stored XSS in Popup Builder WordPress Plugin Allows Script Injection
Publication date: 2025-12-13
Last updated on: 2025-12-13
Assigner: Wordfence
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| wordpress | popup_builder | * |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-79 | The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) issue in the Popup Builder WordPress plugin (up to version 4.4.1). It occurs because the plugin does not properly sanitize or escape user-supplied input in the 'sg_popup' shortcode attributes. Authenticated users with contributor-level access or higher can inject malicious scripts that will execute whenever any user views the affected page.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
An attacker with contributor-level access or above can inject arbitrary scripts into pages, which will execute in the browsers of users who visit those pages. This can lead to theft of user data, session hijacking, defacement, or other malicious actions performed in the context of the affected website.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
Detection of this vulnerability involves identifying if the Popup Builder WordPress plugin is installed and running a vulnerable version (up to and including 4.4.1). You can check the plugin version via WordPress admin dashboard or by inspecting the plugin files. Additionally, monitoring for suspicious stored scripts in pages using the 'sg_popup' shortcode may indicate exploitation attempts. Specific commands are not provided in the resources, but a common approach is to query the plugin version via WP-CLI with: `wp plugin list --format=json` and check for 'popup-builder' version <= 4.4.1. Also, scanning the database or page content for injected scripts in popup shortcode attributes could help detect exploitation. [1]
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
The immediate mitigation step is to update the Popup Builder plugin to version 4.4.2 or later, which includes security hardening to prevent this Stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability. The update improves input sanitization and output escaping, specifically sanitizing attribute keys and escaping attribute values in HTML output. Applying this update will prevent authenticated contributors from injecting malicious scripts via the 'sg_popup' shortcode. [1]
How does this vulnerability affect compliance with common standards and regulations (like GDPR, HIPAA)?:
The provided resources and context do not contain information on how the CVE-2025-9856 vulnerability affects compliance with common standards and regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.