CVE-2025-58862 is a stored Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the WordPress Events Calendar Plugin – connectDaily developed by George Sexton. This vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of input during web page generation, classified under CWE-79. Specifically, the plugin versions up to and including 1.5.3 fail to properly sanitize or encode user-supplied input before rendering it on web pages, allowing malicious actors to inject and store arbitrary JavaScript code. When other users or administrators view the affected pages, the malicious script executes in their browsers within the context of the vulnerable site. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5, indicating a medium severity level. The vector string (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L) shows that the attack can be performed remotely over the network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges (authenticated user), and user interaction (such as clicking a link or viewing a page) is necessary. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability to a limited extent, as the attacker can execute scripts that may steal session cookies, perform actions on behalf of users, or deface content. No known public exploits have been reported yet, and no patches or fixes are currently linked, indicating that remediation may still be pending or in progress. This vulnerability is particularly relevant for WordPress sites using the connectDaily Events Calendar plugin, which is commonly used for event management and scheduling on websites.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk especially for entities relying on WordPress-based websites for event management, such as cultural institutions, universities, conference organizers, and local government portals. Exploitation could lead to session hijacking, unauthorized actions performed with user privileges, defacement of event information, or redirection to malicious sites, undermining user trust and potentially causing reputational damage. Given the plugin’s role in handling event data, attackers might manipulate event details or inject misleading information, which could disrupt organizational operations or public communications. The cross-site scripting flaw could also be leveraged as a stepping stone for further attacks, such as phishing or malware distribution, impacting the confidentiality and integrity of user data. Moreover, the vulnerability’s scope includes availability impact, meaning that attackers might cause denial of service or degrade the user experience by injecting disruptive scripts. Since the attack requires authenticated access with low privileges, insider threats or compromised user accounts could be exploited to launch attacks, increasing the risk within organizations with multiple contributors or editors on their WordPress sites.

To mitigate this vulnerability effectively, European organizations should first verify if their WordPress installations use the connectDaily Events Calendar plugin and identify the plugin version. Immediate steps include restricting plugin usage to trusted users with minimal privileges and enforcing strong authentication mechanisms to reduce the risk of credential compromise. Administrators should monitor user-generated content and event entries for suspicious scripts or anomalies. Implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules specifically targeting XSS payloads can provide an additional protective layer. Organizations should also consider disabling or removing the plugin temporarily until a security patch is released. In the absence of an official patch, applying custom input validation and output encoding on event-related inputs within the plugin’s codebase can reduce exploitability. Regular security audits and scanning for XSS vulnerabilities on the website should be conducted. Educating content editors about the risks of injecting untrusted content and enforcing strict content policies will help minimize attack vectors. Finally, keeping WordPress core and all plugins updated is critical to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities.