CVE-2025-23502
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedCross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Ned Curated Search curated-search allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Curated Search: from n/a through <= 1.2.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceCross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Curated Search plugin allows authenticated administrators to be tricked into submitting malicious requests that inject Stored XSS payloads. The lack of CSRF token validation on plugin forms enables attackers to craft hidden form submissions that persist malicious scripts in the search configuration.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify if Curated Search plugin is installedNavigate to WordPress admin dashboard, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins, and search for 'Curated Search' to confirm presence and activation statusAffected if The Curated Search plugin is installed and active in WordPress
-
Determine installed plugin versionIn Plugins list, click on the plugin name to view details, or open the main plugin file (curated-search.php or similar) and locate the Version header commentAffected if Installed version cannot be confirmed as patched against CVE-2025-23502 or version comparison is unknown
-
Inspect plugin forms for CSRF token implementationLocate PHP files handling form submissions (typically in admin/ or includes/ folders), search for presence of WordPress nonce functions: wp_nonce_field, check_admin_referer, wp_verify_nonce, or verify_nonceAffected if Plugin forms lack nonce verification functions and directly process form submissions without token validation
-
Verify input sanitization on form handlersExamine form processing code for use of sanitization functions like sanitize_text_field, esc_attr, or prepared database queries when handling form dataAffected if Form handlers store user input without sanitization (sanitize_text_field, esc_html, etc.) before database insertion
-
Check output encoding for stored dataSearch plugin files for how stored search configuration data is displayed/echoed, looking for output functions like esc_html, esc_attr, or texturizeAffected if Stored plugin data is output without proper escaping functions, allowing stored XSS to execute
User is affected if the Curated Search plugin is installed and its forms lack CSRF token verification combined with insufficient input sanitization and output encoding, allowing stored XSS injection via crafted form submissions.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataImplement anti-CSRF tokens on all plugin forms and enforce proper input validation and output encoding to prevent stored XSS. Apply WordPress nonces and sanitize all user inputs before storage.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-23502 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-23502 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data