CVE-2025-4224 is a recently disclosed vulnerability affecting the wpForo + wpForo Advanced Attachments plugin for WordPress. Versions ≤ 3.1.3 are susceptible to a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability, allowing authenticated users with Custom-level access or higher to inject malicious scripts via media upload names.
In this post, we’ll walk through what the vulnerability means, who’s affected, and how to mitigate the risk.
Vulnerability Details
- CVE ID: CVE-2025-4224
- Plugin Affected: wpForo Advanced Attachments
- Affected Versions: ≤ 3.1.3
- CWE Identifier: CWE-79 – Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation (‘Cross-site Scripting’)
- CVSS v3.1 Score: 7.2 (High)
- Attack Vector: Network
- Privileges Required: Low (Custom-level access or higher)
- User Interaction: None
- Scope: Changed
- Confidentiality Impact: Low
- Integrity Impact: Low
- Availability Impact: None
Exploitation Path
The vulnerability stems from insufficient input sanitization and output escaping of media upload names. An authenticated attacker with Custom-level access or higher can upload media files with specially crafted names containing malicious scripts. These scripts are then stored and executed whenever a user accesses a page displaying the uploaded media, leading to potential session hijacking, defacement, or redirection to malicious sites.
Mitigation Steps
If your site uses the wpForo Advanced Attachments plugin:
- Check Your Version: Determine if you’re using version 3.1.3 or earlier.
- Update Immediately: Upgrade to version 3.2.0 or later, where the vulnerability has been patched.
- Review User Roles: Audit your site’s user roles to ensure that only trusted individuals have Custom-level access or higher.
- Implement Security Plugins: Utilize security plugins that offer input sanitization and output escaping to add an extra layer of protection.
- Monitor for Suspicious Activity: Regularly check your site’s content and media uploads for unexpected or malicious entries.
References & Attribution
1. Wordfence Vulnerability Report – Original disclosure and technical details
© 2012–2025 Defiant Inc. Licensed for redistribution under Defiant’s license for software vulnerability information.
2. NVD Entry for CVE-2025-4857 – National Vulnerability Database summary
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-4224
3. MITRE CVE Program – Source of CVE metadata and classification
© 1999–2025 The MITRE Corporation. Licensed under the MITRE CVE Terms of Use.
https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse
4. https://gvectors.com/product/wpforo-advanced-attachments/#tab-changelog