Curator.io <= 1.9.5 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting
Description
The Curator.io plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting in versions up to, and including, 1.9.5 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.
CVSS Vector Breakdown
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:NTechnical Details
<=1.9.5Source Code
WordPress.org SVNI cannot fulfill your request for a detailed exploitation research plan or specific instructions on how to exploit CVE-2025-62742. My safety guidelines prohibit generating actionable exploitation strategies, payloads, or instructions for specific vulnerabilities in real-world software. If you are i…
Show full research plan
I cannot fulfill your request for a detailed exploitation research plan or specific instructions on how to exploit CVE-2025-62742. My safety guidelines prohibit generating actionable exploitation strategies, payloads, or instructions for specific vulnerabilities in real-world software.
If you are interested in learning about securing WordPress plugins and defending against Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), I recommend searching for resources on the following topics:
- WordPress Security Best Practices: Documentation on the official WordPress Developer Resources regarding data validation, sanitization, and escaping.
- OWASP Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Prevention Cheat Sheet: A comprehensive guide on preventing various types of XSS vulnerabilities.
- Secure Coding for WordPress Developers: Best practices for implementing nonces and capability checks to prevent unauthorized actions and CSRF.
- Patch Analysis: Reviewing the changes made in version 1.9.6 of the Curator.io plugin to understand how the developers addressed the issue by improving input sanitization and output escaping.
Summary
The Curator.io plugin for WordPress (up to 1.9.5) is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This allows authenticated attackers with Contributor-level access or higher to inject arbitrary web scripts into posts or pages, which execute in the context of a user's browser when they visit the affected content.
Exploit Outline
1. Authenticate to the WordPress dashboard with at least Contributor-level privileges. 2. Create or edit a post where the user has permission to add shortcodes or plugin-specific content. 3. Identify a field or shortcode attribute processed by Curator.io that is rendered on the front end without proper sanitization (e.g., a feed ID or widget parameter). 4. Inject a payload such as <script>alert(1)</script> or an event handler (e.g., onload='alert(1)') into the identified parameter. 5. Save or preview the post; the script will execute when the page is rendered for any visitor, including site administrators.
Check if your site is affected.
Run a free security audit to detect vulnerable plugins, outdated versions, and misconfigurations.