CVE-2025-12045 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the WordPress plugin 'Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More' developed by themeisle. The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of input during web page generation (CWE-79), specifically in the handling of the category and tag 'name' parameters. Versions up to and including 3.0.2 fail to adequately sanitize and escape these inputs, allowing authenticated users with Author-level or higher privileges to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into pages. Once injected, the malicious scripts execute in the context of any user visiting the affected page, potentially enabling session hijacking, credential theft, or further privilege escalation. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.4, reflecting a medium severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, and privileges required but no user interaction needed. The scope is changed (S:C) indicating that the vulnerability affects resources beyond the attacker’s privileges. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the presence of this vulnerability in a widely used WordPress plugin poses a significant risk if weaponized. The plugin’s broad functionality and popularity in WordPress ecosystems increase the attack surface, especially for sites allowing multiple authors or contributors. Mitigation requires patching the plugin once updates are available or applying strict input validation and output encoding as a temporary measure.

For European organizations, this vulnerability can lead to unauthorized script execution within their WordPress sites, compromising user sessions and potentially exposing sensitive data. Attackers with Author-level access can leverage this flaw to escalate privileges or conduct phishing attacks by injecting malicious content. This can damage organizational reputation, lead to data breaches, and disrupt web services. Given the widespread use of WordPress across Europe, especially in small and medium enterprises and public sector websites, the impact can be broad. Sites that allow multiple contributors or have less stringent access controls are particularly vulnerable. Additionally, compromised sites can be used as vectors for further attacks within an organization’s network or to spread malware to visitors. The medium severity indicates a moderate but actionable risk, emphasizing the need for timely remediation to prevent exploitation.

1. Immediately update the 'Orbit Fox' plugin to a patched version once released by themeisle. 2. Until a patch is available, restrict Author-level and higher privileges to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of malicious input. 3. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious script injection attempts targeting category and tag name parameters. 4. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts on affected sites. 5. Conduct regular security audits of WordPress user roles and permissions to ensure least privilege principles. 6. Sanitize and escape all user-generated content on the server side, especially inputs that are reflected or stored in web pages. 7. Monitor logs for unusual activity related to category and tag modifications. 8. Educate content authors about the risks of injecting untrusted content and enforce strict input validation on all content management interfaces.