CVE-2025-5531 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting the Employee Directory – Staff Listing & Team Directory Plugin for WordPress developed by emarket-design. This vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 4.5.0. The root cause is improper neutralization of input during web page generation, specifically insufficient sanitization and escaping of user-supplied attributes in the plugin's 'emd_mb_meta' shortcode. An authenticated attacker with contributor-level or higher privileges can inject arbitrary JavaScript code into pages generated by the plugin. When other users access these pages, the malicious scripts execute in their browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, privilege escalation, or other malicious actions. The vulnerability does not require user interaction beyond visiting the compromised page and does not require administrator privileges, only contributor-level access. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.4 (medium severity), reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, privileges required, no user interaction, and impacts on confidentiality and integrity but not availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no official patches have been linked yet. This vulnerability falls under CWE-79, which is a common and well-understood web application security issue related to improper input validation and output encoding.

For European organizations using WordPress sites with the affected Employee Directory plugin, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk. Attackers with contributor-level access—such as internal users or compromised accounts—can inject malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of site visitors, including employees, partners, or customers. This can lead to theft of session cookies, unauthorized actions performed on behalf of users, or delivery of further malware. Confidentiality of sensitive information displayed or accessible via the directory could be compromised. Integrity of the website content and user trust may be damaged, potentially impacting organizational reputation. While availability is not directly affected, the indirect consequences of successful exploitation could disrupt business operations or lead to compliance issues under GDPR if personal data is exposed. The risk is heightened in organizations with multiple contributors or less stringent access controls. Since WordPress is widely used across Europe, and employee directories often contain sensitive internal information, the impact can be significant if exploited.

1. Immediately restrict contributor-level access to trusted users only and review existing user permissions to minimize risk exposure. 2. Monitor and audit user-generated content submitted via the 'emd_mb_meta' shortcode for suspicious scripts or anomalies. 3. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules that detect and block typical XSS payloads targeting this plugin's shortcode parameters. 4. Encourage or enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users with contributor or higher privileges to reduce the risk of account compromise. 5. Until an official patch is released, consider disabling or removing the Employee Directory plugin if feasible, or replace it with a secure alternative. 6. Educate content contributors about safe input practices and the risks of injecting untrusted content. 7. Regularly update WordPress core and plugins and subscribe to vulnerability advisories to apply patches promptly once available. 8. Use Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts on affected sites, mitigating impact of injected scripts.