CVE-2025-57945 is a medium-severity Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the cedcommerce WP Advanced PDF WordPress plugin, affecting versions up to 1.1.7. The vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of input during web page generation, classified under CWE-79. Specifically, this flaw allows an attacker with high privileges (PR:H) and requiring user interaction (UI:R) to inject malicious scripts that are stored persistently within the plugin's data or output. When other users or administrators view the affected pages, the malicious script executes in their browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, privilege escalation, or unauthorized actions within the WordPress environment. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.9 reflects a medium severity, with an attack vector over the network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), and a scope change (S:C) indicating that the vulnerability can affect resources beyond the initially compromised component. Although exploitation requires authenticated access and user interaction, the impact includes partial loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:L/I:L/A:L). No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability was reserved on August 22, 2025, and published on September 22, 2025, by Patchstack. This vulnerability is particularly relevant for WordPress sites using the WP Advanced PDF plugin, which is used to generate PDF documents from WordPress content, often in e-commerce or content-heavy sites.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to websites running WordPress with the WP Advanced PDF plugin installed. Given the plugin’s role in generating PDFs, exploitation could allow attackers to inject malicious scripts that compromise administrative sessions or manipulate content, potentially leading to data leakage or unauthorized modifications. This can affect confidentiality of sensitive data, integrity of documents generated, and availability if the site is disrupted. Organizations in sectors such as e-commerce, publishing, and digital services that rely on WordPress and this plugin are at risk. Additionally, GDPR compliance could be impacted if personal data is exposed or manipulated due to this vulnerability. The requirement for authenticated access limits the attack surface but insider threats or compromised credentials could facilitate exploitation. The medium severity suggests a moderate but non-trivial risk, warranting timely remediation to prevent escalation or chained attacks.

1. Immediate mitigation involves restricting plugin usage to trusted administrators and limiting user roles with access to the plugin’s features. 2. Monitor and audit user activities related to PDF generation to detect suspicious behavior. 3. Apply strict input validation and sanitization on all user-supplied data that the plugin processes, especially any fields that are rendered in web pages. 4. Disable or remove the WP Advanced PDF plugin if it is not essential, or replace it with a more secure alternative. 5. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to reduce the impact of XSS by restricting script execution sources. 6. Keep WordPress core and all plugins updated; watch for official patches from cedcommerce and apply them promptly once available. 7. Educate administrators about phishing and credential security to reduce risk of account compromise. 8. Use Web Application Firewalls (WAF) with rules targeting XSS patterns to provide an additional layer of defense.