CVE-2025-11220 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the Elementor Website Builder plugin for WordPress, specifically within the Text Path widget. This widget uses user-supplied input to build SVG markup but fails to properly neutralize or sanitize this input, leading to the possibility of injecting arbitrary JavaScript code. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 3.33.3. Exploitation requires an attacker to have at least contributor-level privileges on the WordPress site, which allows them to add or edit content but not necessarily publish it directly. Once malicious scripts are injected into the SVG markup, they execute in the context of any user who views the affected page, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or further compromise of user accounts. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.4 reflects a medium severity, with an attack vector over the network, low attack complexity, requiring privileges but no user interaction, and impacting confidentiality and integrity with no effect on availability. No public exploits are currently known, but the vulnerability's presence in a widely used plugin makes it a significant risk. The flaw stems from improper input validation and output encoding in the SVG generation process within the widget, a common source of XSS vulnerabilities. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-79, which covers improper neutralization of input during web page generation. The lack of available patches at the time of publication increases the urgency for mitigation through access control and monitoring.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily to the confidentiality and integrity of web applications built using WordPress with the Elementor plugin. Attackers with contributor-level access can inject malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of site visitors, potentially leading to session hijacking, unauthorized actions on behalf of users, theft of sensitive information, or distribution of malware. This can damage organizational reputation, lead to data breaches involving personal data protected under GDPR, and cause operational disruptions if exploited at scale. Since the vulnerability requires authenticated access, organizations with weak user access controls or large numbers of contributors are at higher risk. The impact is amplified for e-commerce, government, and media websites that rely on Elementor for content management and have high visitor traffic. Additionally, the cross-site scripting can be used as a pivot point for further attacks within the network or to compromise privileged accounts. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers often develop exploits quickly after disclosure. Organizations failing to promptly address this vulnerability may face regulatory scrutiny and financial penalties under European data protection laws if exploitation leads to personal data exposure.

1. Immediately review and restrict contributor-level access on WordPress sites using Elementor to only trusted users, minimizing the number of accounts that can inject content. 2. Implement strict content moderation workflows requiring administrator review before publishing content created by contributors. 3. Monitor and audit changes to pages using the Text Path widget, looking for suspicious or unexpected SVG markup or script tags. 4. Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block malicious SVG or script payloads targeting the Text Path widget. 5. Disable or remove the Text Path widget if it is not essential to site functionality until a patch is available. 6. Keep WordPress core and all plugins updated; apply the official Elementor patch promptly once released. 7. Educate content contributors about the risks of injecting untrusted code and enforce secure content creation policies. 8. Use Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of inline scripts and reduce the impact of XSS attacks. 9. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on plugin vulnerabilities and user privilege abuse. 10. Maintain comprehensive logging and alerting to detect anomalous activities related to content injection or privilege misuse.