CVE-2025-14053 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability classified under CWE-79, found in the WordPress plugin 'Travel Bucket List – Wish To Go' developed by jseto. This vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 0.5.2. The root cause is insufficient sanitization and escaping of user-supplied shortcode attributes, which allows authenticated users with Contributor-level privileges or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into pages. Because the malicious scripts are stored in the database and rendered whenever the affected page is accessed, any visitor to the page—including administrators and other users—may have the injected script executed in their browsers. This can lead to session hijacking, privilege escalation, defacement, or distribution of malware. The vulnerability requires no user interaction beyond visiting the compromised page but does require the attacker to have authenticated access with at least Contributor permissions, which is a moderate barrier. The CVSS v3.1 score is 6.4, reflecting medium severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, and partial impact on confidentiality and integrity, but no impact on availability. No public exploits have been reported yet. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and output encoding in WordPress plugins, especially those that accept user-generated content through shortcodes.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily to websites running WordPress with the 'Travel Bucket List – Wish To Go' plugin installed. The impact includes potential compromise of user accounts through session hijacking, unauthorized actions performed on behalf of users, and defacement or manipulation of website content. Organizations in the travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors that use this plugin to showcase travel destinations or bucket lists are particularly at risk, as attackers could exploit the vulnerability to damage reputation or steal sensitive user data. Since the attack requires authenticated access at Contributor level or higher, the risk is elevated in environments with multiple content contributors or less stringent access controls. The vulnerability does not affect system availability but compromises confidentiality and integrity of user sessions and data. Additionally, the stored nature of the XSS means that the malicious payload persists and can affect many users over time, increasing the potential damage. European organizations with public-facing WordPress sites and active user communities should consider this a significant threat vector.

1. Immediately review and restrict Contributor-level and higher access to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of malicious shortcode injection. 2. Monitor and audit shortcode attributes and content submitted by contributors for suspicious or unexpected scripts. 3. Apply strict input validation and output encoding on all shortcode attributes, ensuring that any user-supplied data is sanitized before rendering. 4. Disable or remove the 'Travel Bucket List – Wish To Go' plugin if it is not essential, or replace it with a more secure alternative. 5. Stay alert for official patches or updates from the vendor and apply them promptly once available. 6. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts on affected sites. 7. Conduct regular security scans and penetration tests focusing on stored XSS vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins. 8. Educate content contributors about the risks of injecting untrusted content and enforce secure content submission policies. 9. Use Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules to detect and block common XSS payloads targeting shortcode attributes. 10. Backup website data regularly to enable quick recovery if an attack occurs.