CVE-2025-8149 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting the aThemes Addons for Elementor WordPress plugin, specifically in its Countdown widget. The vulnerability arises due to improper neutralization of input during web page generation, classified under CWE-79. In all versions up to and including 1.1.2, the plugin fails to adequately sanitize and escape user-supplied attributes. This flaw allows an authenticated attacker with contributor-level or higher privileges to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into pages using the vulnerable widget. When other users visit these compromised pages, the malicious scripts execute in their browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, privilege escalation, defacement, or redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability requires no user interaction beyond visiting the affected page but does require the attacker to have authenticated access with contributor or higher privileges, which is a moderate barrier. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.4 (medium severity), reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, privileges required, no user interaction, and partial impact on confidentiality and integrity but no impact on availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no official patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability's scope is limited to WordPress sites using the aThemes Addons for Elementor plugin with the Countdown widget enabled, which is a niche but popular plugin in the WordPress ecosystem. The stored nature of the XSS makes it more dangerous than reflected XSS, as the malicious payload persists and affects all visitors to the compromised page until remediated.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk especially to those relying on WordPress websites for public-facing content, marketing, or internal portals that use the aThemes Addons for Elementor plugin. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive user data, session hijacking of logged-in users, and potential defacement or misinformation campaigns. This could damage brand reputation, lead to regulatory non-compliance under GDPR due to personal data exposure, and cause operational disruptions. Since the attacker requires contributor-level access, the risk is elevated if internal users or third-party content contributors have compromised credentials or malicious intent. The persistent nature of stored XSS means that even casual visitors or less privileged users could be affected, increasing the attack surface. Additionally, the vulnerability could be leveraged as a foothold for further attacks within the organization’s web infrastructure. Given the widespread use of WordPress in Europe and the popularity of Elementor-based themes and plugins, the impact could be broad, affecting SMEs, public sector websites, and e-commerce platforms.

1. Immediate mitigation involves restricting contributor-level access to trusted users only and auditing existing user accounts for suspicious activity. 2. Disable or remove the Countdown widget from the aThemes Addons for Elementor plugin until a security patch is released. 3. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block malicious script payloads targeting the plugin’s parameters. 4. Monitor website logs for unusual POST requests or changes to pages containing the Countdown widget. 5. Educate content contributors about the risks of XSS and enforce strong authentication mechanisms such as MFA to reduce the risk of account compromise. 6. Once available, promptly apply official security updates from the plugin vendor. 7. Conduct a thorough security review of all plugins and themes to identify and remediate similar input validation issues. 8. Consider deploying Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit the impact of any injected scripts. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control, monitoring, and layered defenses specific to the plugin and its usage context.