CVE-2025-47525 is a medium-severity vulnerability classified under CWE-79, which corresponds to Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, commonly known as Cross-site Scripting (XSS). This vulnerability affects the Bold Page Builder product by boldthemes, specifically versions up to and including 5.3.0. The issue allows for Stored XSS attacks, where malicious input is persistently stored by the application and later rendered in web pages without proper sanitization or encoding. This can enable attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of users' browsers who visit affected pages. The CVSS 3.1 vector indicates the attack vector is network-based (AV:N), with low attack complexity (AC:L), but requires high privileges (PR:H) and user interaction (UI:R). The scope is changed (S:C), meaning the vulnerability affects resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. The impact includes low confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts (C:L/I:L/A:L), reflecting that while the vulnerability can lead to some data disclosure or modification, it is not catastrophic. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability was published on May 7, 2025, and is tracked by Patchstack and CISA enrichment.

For European organizations using Bold Page Builder, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to web applications that rely on this plugin for content management and page building. Stored XSS can lead to session hijacking, defacement, phishing, or distribution of malware to site visitors. The requirement for high privileges to exploit means that attackers would likely need to compromise an account with elevated permissions first, such as an administrator or editor, which limits the attack surface but does not eliminate risk. The changed scope indicates that the impact can extend beyond the immediate component, potentially affecting other parts of the web application or user data. Given the widespread use of WordPress and its plugins in Europe, organizations in sectors such as e-commerce, media, and government could face reputational damage, regulatory penalties under GDPR if personal data is exposed, and operational disruptions. The absence of known exploits suggests a window of opportunity for proactive mitigation before active exploitation occurs.

European organizations should immediately audit their use of Bold Page Builder and identify installations running version 5.3.0 or earlier. Until an official patch is released, they should consider the following specific mitigations: 1) Restrict high-privilege user accounts and enforce strong authentication and authorization controls to reduce the risk of privilege escalation. 2) Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common XSS payloads targeting the affected endpoints. 3) Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts in browsers. 4) Conduct thorough input validation and output encoding on all user-generated content, especially in custom integrations or extensions of Bold Page Builder. 5) Monitor logs and user activity for suspicious behavior indicative of attempted exploitation. 6) Prepare for rapid patch deployment once the vendor releases an update by establishing a patch management process focused on this plugin. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on privilege restriction, WAF tuning, CSP enforcement, and proactive monitoring tailored to the nature of this stored XSS vulnerability.