CVE-2025-1626 is a medium-severity stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting the Qi Blocks WordPress plugin versions prior to 1.4. The vulnerability arises because the plugin fails to properly validate and escape certain Countdown block options before rendering them on pages or posts where the block is embedded. This improper handling allows users with contributor-level permissions or higher to inject malicious scripts that get stored persistently within the content. When other users view the affected page or post, the malicious scripts execute in their browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, privilege escalation, or other malicious actions. The vulnerability requires an attacker to have at least contributor privileges, which means the attacker must already have some level of authenticated access to the WordPress site. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.4, reflecting a medium severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, privileges required, and user interaction needed. The scope is changed, indicating that the vulnerability affects components beyond the initially compromised privilege level. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79, which corresponds to Cross-Site Scripting issues caused by improper input validation and output encoding.

For European organizations using WordPress sites with the Qi Blocks plugin, this vulnerability could lead to stored XSS attacks that compromise the confidentiality and integrity of user sessions and data. Attackers with contributor or higher privileges could inject malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of site visitors, including administrators or editors, potentially leading to credential theft, unauthorized actions, or malware distribution. This risk is particularly concerning for organizations handling sensitive or regulated data, such as financial institutions, healthcare providers, or government entities in Europe, where data protection regulations like GDPR impose strict requirements on data security. The vulnerability could also damage organizational reputation and trust if exploited. Since the vulnerability requires authenticated access, the impact is somewhat limited to environments where contributor roles are assigned to untrusted or external users. However, in collaborative or multi-user environments common in European enterprises and public sector organizations, this risk remains significant.

European organizations should immediately audit their WordPress installations to identify the presence of the Qi Blocks plugin and verify its version. Until an official patch is released, organizations should restrict contributor and higher roles to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of malicious content injection. Implementing Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious script injections in post content can provide an additional layer of defense. Organizations should also enforce strict content moderation policies and review user-generated content before publishing. Employing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers can help mitigate the impact of XSS by restricting the execution of unauthorized scripts. Regularly monitoring logs for unusual activity related to content creation or modification is recommended. Once a patch becomes available, prompt application of the update is critical. Additionally, consider disabling or removing the Qi Blocks plugin if it is not essential to reduce the attack surface.