CVE-2025-13206 is a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability identified in the GiveWP Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 4.13.0. The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of input during web page generation, specifically via the 'name' parameter. Due to insufficient input sanitization and lack of proper output escaping, an attacker can inject arbitrary JavaScript code that is stored persistently and executed in the context of any user who views the affected page. This vulnerability does not require authentication or user interaction to exploit, but the WordPress installation must have avatars enabled, as the attack vector leverages avatar rendering functionality. The CVSS 3.1 score of 7.2 reflects a high severity, with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, and a scope change indicating that the vulnerability can affect components beyond the initially vulnerable plugin. The impact primarily compromises confidentiality and integrity by enabling theft of sensitive data such as cookies, session tokens, or other private information, and potentially allows attackers to perform actions on behalf of users. Although no known exploits have been reported in the wild yet, the vulnerability is significant due to the plugin's widespread use in donation and fundraising websites, which often handle sensitive donor information and financial transactions. The lack of a patch at the time of reporting increases the urgency for defensive measures. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79, a common and well-understood category of cross-site scripting flaws. The technical details indicate that the vulnerability was reserved and published in November 2025, with Wordfence as the assigner. Given the nature of the vulnerability, attackers could leverage it to conduct phishing, session hijacking, or defacement attacks, severely impacting the trust and operation of affected organizations.

For European organizations, especially nonprofits, charities, and fundraising platforms using the GiveWP plugin, this vulnerability poses a significant threat. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of donor information, session hijacking, and unauthorized actions performed on behalf of legitimate users, undermining trust and potentially causing financial and reputational damage. The persistent nature of the stored XSS means that once injected, malicious scripts can affect all visitors to the compromised pages, amplifying the impact. Given the importance of data privacy under regulations such as GDPR, exploitation could also lead to regulatory penalties if personal data is exposed. The vulnerability's ability to affect confidentiality and integrity without requiring authentication or user interaction makes it particularly dangerous. Additionally, the fundraising sector in Europe is critical for many social services, so disruption or compromise could have broader societal impacts. Organizations relying on GiveWP must consider the risk of targeted attacks exploiting this vulnerability to gain footholds or conduct broader campaigns against their users.

1. Monitor the vendor’s announcements and apply security patches immediately once available to remediate the vulnerability. 2. Temporarily disable avatars in WordPress installations using GiveWP to prevent exploitation until a patch is applied. 3. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules that detect and block suspicious input patterns targeting the 'name' parameter in the plugin. 4. Conduct thorough input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied data, especially parameters rendered on pages, to prevent injection of malicious scripts. 5. Regularly audit and sanitize existing stored data in the plugin’s database fields to remove any injected scripts. 6. Educate site administrators and users about the risks of XSS and encourage the use of security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP) to limit script execution. 7. Employ security scanning tools to detect XSS vulnerabilities and verify the effectiveness of mitigations. 8. Limit plugin usage to trusted sources and consider alternative donation platforms with better security track records if immediate patching is not feasible.