CVE-2025-14154 identifies a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Better Messages – Live Chat plugin, which integrates with WordPress and social community platforms like BuddyPress, PeepSo, Ultimate Member, and BuddyBoss. The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of input during web page generation (CWE-79), specifically in the handling of guest display names. Because the plugin fails to adequately sanitize and escape user-supplied input before rendering it on chat pages, an unauthenticated attacker can inject arbitrary JavaScript code. This malicious script is stored persistently and executed in the browsers of any users who visit the infected chat page, enabling attacks such as session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability affects all versions up to 2.10.2, with no authentication required for exploitation, though user interaction is necessary to trigger the payload. The CVSS 3.1 score of 6.1 reflects a medium severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, but requiring user interaction and impacting confidentiality and integrity with no availability impact. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, but the widespread use of these plugins in community and membership sites increases the risk. The vulnerability highlights the critical need for secure coding practices in input validation and output encoding within WordPress plugin development. Until patches are released, organizations should monitor for suspicious activity and consider temporary mitigations such as disabling guest display name features or applying WAF rules to detect and block XSS payloads.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-14154 can be significant, especially for those relying on WordPress-based community, membership, or customer support platforms using the affected Better Messages plugin. Exploitation can lead to unauthorized script execution in users' browsers, resulting in session hijacking, theft of sensitive information such as authentication tokens or personal data, and phishing attacks leveraging the trusted site context. This undermines user trust and can lead to reputational damage, regulatory compliance issues under GDPR due to potential data breaches, and financial losses from fraud or remediation costs. The vulnerability's ability to be exploited by unauthenticated attackers increases the attack surface, particularly for public-facing websites with guest user interactions. Although availability is not directly impacted, the integrity and confidentiality breaches can disrupt normal operations and user confidence. Given the plugin's integration with popular social and membership platforms, the scope includes a broad range of organizations across sectors such as e-commerce, education, media, and public services in Europe.

1. Monitor the vendor's official channels for security patches addressing CVE-2025-14154 and apply updates immediately upon release. 2. Until patches are available, consider disabling or restricting guest display name functionality to prevent injection points. 3. Implement strict input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied data, especially guest display names, to neutralize malicious scripts. 4. Deploy Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block typical XSS payload patterns targeting the chat plugin endpoints. 5. Conduct regular security audits and code reviews of WordPress plugins and themes to identify similar input sanitization issues. 6. Educate site administrators and users about the risks of clicking suspicious links or interacting with untrusted chat messages. 7. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts in browsers. 8. Monitor logs for unusual activity or repeated attempts to inject scripts via guest display names. 9. Consider isolating or sandboxing chat components to limit the impact of potential script execution. 10. Maintain comprehensive backups and incident response plans to quickly recover from any exploitation events.