CVE-2025-27002

Vulnerability

Overview

The CountDown With Image or Video Background plugin for WordPress (versions up to and including 1.5) contains a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability due to improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation [1]. This flaw enables an attacker to inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript into the application's response.

Exploitation

Details

Exploitation requires user interaction: a privileged user must click a crafted link, visit a specially prepared page, or submit a malicious form [1]. The attacker does not need prior authentication but relies on tricking an authenticated user into performing the action. The vulnerability-triggering action. The attack surface is the plugin's handling of input parameters that are reflected back without proper sanitization.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows an attacker to inject malicious scripts, such as redirects, advertisements, or other HTML payloads, which execute when other users (including site visitors) access the affected page [1]. This can lead to session hijacking, defacement, or phishing attacks. The vulnerability is considered moderately dangerous and is expected to be used in mass-exploit campaigns targeting thousands of websites [1].

Mitigation

Users should immediately update the plugin to a patched version if available [1]. As a temporary measure, Patchstack has issued a mitigation rule to block attacks until an official patch can be tested and safely applied [1]. If updating is not possible, contacting the hosting provider or a web developer for assistance is recommended [1].