CVE-2025-6757 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting the Recent Posts Widget Extended plugin for WordPress, developed by themejunkie. This vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of input during web page generation (CWE-79). Specifically, the plugin's 'rpwe' shortcode fails to adequately sanitize and escape user-supplied attributes, allowing authenticated users with contributor-level access or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript code. Because the malicious script is stored persistently, it executes whenever any user accesses the affected page, potentially compromising the confidentiality and integrity of user sessions and data. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 2.0.2. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.4 (medium severity), with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), privileges required (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), scope changed (S:C), and impacts on confidentiality and integrity but not availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no official patches have been released yet. The vulnerability was reserved in June 2025 and published in September 2025. This vulnerability is significant because WordPress is widely used across Europe, and plugins like Recent Posts Widget Extended are common for site customization. An attacker exploiting this flaw could hijack user sessions, deface websites, or conduct phishing attacks by injecting malicious scripts that run in the context of the vulnerable site.

For European organizations, especially those relying on WordPress for their web presence, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, session hijacking, and potential defacement or redirection to malicious sites. Since the attack requires contributor-level access, insider threats or compromised accounts pose a significant risk vector. The impact is heightened for organizations handling personal data under GDPR, as exploitation could lead to data breaches with regulatory and reputational consequences. E-commerce sites, government portals, educational institutions, and media outlets using the affected plugin are particularly at risk. The stored nature of the XSS means that any visitor to the compromised page could be affected, amplifying the potential damage. Additionally, the scope change in the CVSS vector indicates that the vulnerability can affect resources beyond the immediate plugin context, potentially impacting other parts of the website or connected systems.

Organizations should immediately audit their WordPress installations to identify usage of the Recent Posts Widget Extended plugin, especially versions up to 2.0.2. Until an official patch is released, administrators should consider disabling or removing the plugin to eliminate the attack surface. Implement strict access controls to limit contributor-level permissions only to trusted users and enforce multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of account compromise. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious payloads targeting the 'rpwe' shortcode parameters. Regularly monitor website content for unauthorized script injections. Additionally, security teams should educate contributors about safe content practices and the risks of injecting untrusted code. Once a patch becomes available, prioritize timely updates. For longer-term mitigation, consider adopting Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution sources and reduce the impact of potential XSS attacks.