CVE-2025-12178 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the SpiceForms Form Builder plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 1.0. The root cause is insufficient sanitization and escaping of user-supplied input within the 'spiceforms' shortcode attributes, which allows authenticated users with contributor-level access or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into pages. When other users access these pages, the injected scripts execute in their browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, privilege escalation, or content manipulation. The vulnerability requires authentication but no user interaction beyond viewing the affected page. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.4, reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, privileges required, no user interaction, and partial confidentiality and integrity impact. Although no known exploits are currently in the wild, the vulnerability poses a significant risk due to the widespread use of WordPress and the common practice of granting contributor-level access to multiple users. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79, which is a common and well-understood web application security issue. Mitigation requires either applying patches (if available) or implementing strict input validation and output encoding to neutralize malicious scripts. Monitoring and restricting contributor privileges can also reduce risk.

The impact of CVE-2025-12178 is primarily on the confidentiality and integrity of affected WordPress sites using the SpiceForms Form Builder plugin. Exploitation allows an authenticated contributor or higher to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers. This can lead to session hijacking, theft of sensitive information, unauthorized actions performed on behalf of users, and defacement or manipulation of site content. Although availability is not directly affected, the resulting trust erosion and potential data breaches can have significant operational and reputational consequences. Organizations with multiple contributors or editors are particularly vulnerable, as the attack vector requires authenticated access. The vulnerability could be leveraged in targeted attacks against organizations relying on this plugin, especially those with high-value web assets or sensitive user data. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently limits immediate risk, but the medium severity score indicates a need for timely remediation to prevent future exploitation.

1. Apply official patches or updates from the plugin vendor as soon as they become available to address the input sanitization and output escaping flaws. 2. If patches are not yet available, restrict contributor-level and higher privileges to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of malicious script injection. 3. Implement web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious shortcode attribute inputs that may contain script tags or event handlers. 4. Conduct regular security audits and code reviews of custom shortcodes and plugins to ensure proper input validation and output encoding practices are followed. 5. Educate content contributors about the risks of injecting untrusted content and enforce strict content submission guidelines. 6. Monitor logs and user activity for unusual behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. 7. Consider disabling or replacing the SpiceForms Form Builder plugin with a more secure alternative if immediate patching is not feasible. 8. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts in browsers, mitigating the impact of XSS attacks.