CVE-2025-1490 identifies a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Smart Maintenance Mode plugin for WordPress, developed by brijeshk89. This vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 1.5.2 due to improper neutralization of user-supplied input in the 'setstatus' parameter. The plugin fails to adequately sanitize and escape this parameter before reflecting it in web pages, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary JavaScript code. Because the vulnerability is reflected, exploitation requires an attacker to craft a malicious URL containing the payload and convince a user to click it, causing the victim's browser to execute the injected script. The vulnerability is unauthenticated, meaning no login is required to exploit it. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N) indicates network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, scope changed, and low impact on confidentiality and integrity, with no availability impact. The scope change means the vulnerability affects resources beyond the vulnerable component itself, potentially impacting the entire web application context. The vulnerability can lead to theft of cookies, session tokens, or other sensitive information, as well as unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the victim user. No patches or fixes are currently linked, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date. The vulnerability was reserved on 2025-02-19 and published on 2025-03-26. The plugin is widely used in WordPress environments to enable maintenance mode features, making many websites potentially vulnerable if they use affected versions.

The primary impact of CVE-2025-1490 is on the confidentiality and integrity of user data and sessions on affected WordPress sites. Successful exploitation can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, or execution of unauthorized actions in the context of the victim user, potentially including administrative users. This can result in website defacement, unauthorized content changes, or further compromise of the web application and backend systems. Although availability is not directly impacted, the resulting compromise could lead to indirect denial of service or reputational damage. Organizations relying on the Smart Maintenance Mode plugin for WordPress, especially those with high-traffic or sensitive websites, face increased risk of targeted phishing campaigns leveraging this vulnerability. The unauthenticated nature and low attack complexity increase the likelihood of exploitation once the vulnerability becomes widely known. The scope change in the CVSS vector suggests that the vulnerability could affect multiple components or user sessions beyond the plugin itself, amplifying the potential damage. Overall, the threat poses a moderate risk to organizations worldwide, particularly those with significant WordPress deployments and user bases.

1. Immediate mitigation involves updating the Smart Maintenance Mode plugin to a patched version once available. Since no patch links are currently provided, monitor the vendor's official channels for updates. 2. If patching is not immediately possible, consider disabling or uninstalling the plugin to eliminate the attack surface. 3. Implement strict input validation and output encoding on the 'setstatus' parameter at the web application firewall (WAF) or reverse proxy level to block malicious payloads. 4. Deploy Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of inline scripts and reduce the impact of XSS attacks. 5. Educate users and administrators about the risks of clicking unknown or suspicious links, as exploitation requires user interaction. 6. Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focused on input validation and XSS vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins. 7. Employ security plugins or modules that provide additional XSS protection and monitoring for WordPress sites. 8. Monitor web server and application logs for unusual requests targeting the 'setstatus' parameter or suspicious URL patterns. 9. Consider implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for administrative access to reduce the impact of session hijacking. 10. Maintain regular backups of website data and configurations to enable recovery in case of compromise.