CVE-2025-14040 is a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79) found in the Automotive Car Dealership Business WordPress Theme developed by themesuite. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 13.4. It stems from insufficient sanitization and escaping of user-supplied input in the 'Call to Action' custom fields: 'action_text', 'action_button_text', 'action_link', and 'action_class'. Authenticated users with contributor-level permissions or higher can inject arbitrary JavaScript code into these fields. Because the injected scripts are stored and rendered on pages, they execute in the context of any user who views the affected page, potentially compromising user sessions, stealing cookies, or performing unauthorized actions on behalf of users. The vulnerability requires no user interaction beyond visiting the page and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.4, reflecting medium severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, and privileges required. The scope is changed (S:C) because the vulnerability affects resources beyond the attacker’s privileges. No patches or official fixes are currently linked, and no known exploits have been observed in the wild. This vulnerability highlights the risks of insufficient input validation in WordPress themes, especially those allowing contributor-level users to input content that is rendered without proper escaping.

The impact of CVE-2025-14040 is significant for organizations using the affected WordPress theme, particularly those that allow contributor-level users to add or modify content. Exploitation can lead to session hijacking, unauthorized actions performed in the context of other users (including administrators), defacement, or distribution of malware through injected scripts. This can compromise the confidentiality and integrity of user data and site content. Since the vulnerability is stored XSS, the malicious payload persists and affects all visitors to the compromised pages, increasing the attack surface. The requirement for contributor-level authentication limits exposure to some extent but does not eliminate risk, especially in multi-user environments or sites with less restrictive user management. The vulnerability could be leveraged in targeted attacks against automotive dealerships or related businesses using this theme, potentially damaging reputation and causing operational disruptions.

To mitigate CVE-2025-14040, organizations should immediately restrict contributor-level permissions to trusted users only and audit existing content in the vulnerable custom fields for malicious scripts. Implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to detect and block common XSS payloads can provide temporary protection. Site administrators should monitor logs and user activity for suspicious behavior. Since no official patch is currently available, consider applying manual input sanitization and output escaping in the theme’s PHP files, specifically targeting the 'Call to Action' fields, or temporarily disabling these fields if feasible. Upgrading to a patched version once released is critical. Additionally, enforcing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers can reduce the impact of injected scripts by restricting script execution sources. Regular backups and incident response plans should be in place to recover from potential compromises.