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Essential WidgetsWordPress extension · Catchthemes

CVE-2025-67543

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.3 / 2.8 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 · unedited
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Catch Themes Essential Widgets essential-widgets allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Essential Widgets: from n/a through <= 2.2.2.

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 confidence

A stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in the Catch Themes Essential Widgets WordPress plugin (versions up to 2.2.2). Attackers can inject malicious JavaScript code through widget configuration settings, which persists in the database and executes when administrators or other users view the affected widget pages.

MitigationUpdate Essential Widgets to the latest patched version as soon as available; until then, limit widget editing permissions to trusted administrators only and monitor for suspicious widget content.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Essential WidgetsWordPress extension
Affected:< 2.3< 2.8

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if Catch Themes Essential Widgets plugin is installed
    Navigate to WordPress Admin > Plugins and look for 'Catchthemes Essential Widgets' in the installed plugins list, or check the plugin file header in /wp-content/plugins/essential-widgets/
    Affected if The plugin is present on the WordPress installation
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    In WordPress Admin > Plugins, click on the plugin name to view details and read the version number displayed, or open the main plugin PHP file and look for the 'Version' header in the plugin comment block
    Affected if The version shown is less than 2.3 or less than 2.8 (compare against both thresholds)
  3. Verify the plugin is active
    In WordPress Admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins, confirm the plugin status shows 'Active' for Catchthemes Essential Widgets
    Affected if Plugin shows as active and version is below 2.3 or 2.8
  4. Inspect database for suspicious widget content
    Query the wp_options table (or options table with appropriate prefix) for rows where option_name contains 'widget_' or 'essential_widget' and option_value contains script tags, javascript:, or onload/onerror event handlers
    Affected if Any widget option records contain unrecognized JavaScript code or script tags that were not intentionally added by an administrator
  5. Review widget configuration settings
    Navigate to Appearance > Widgets in WordPress Admin and examine each Essential Widget instance; check the configuration fields for any unexpected content in title, text, URL, or other input fields that may contain encoded or obfuscated script tags
    Affected if Any widget configuration contains executable-looking JavaScript or HTML script tags that were not authored by a trusted administrator

A user is affected if they have Catch Themes Essential Widgets installed with a version lower than 2.3 or 2.8 and the plugin is active, particularly if suspicious script content is found in widget database records.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.3 / 2.8 or later
Fixed in 2.32.8
Interim mitigation

Update Essential Widgets to the latest patched version as soon as available; until then, limit widget editing permissions to trusted administrators only and monitor for suspicious widget content.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Essential Widgets version 2.3 or later

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate 'Essential Widgets by Catch Themes' in the plugin list
  4. Check the current version installed (should be <= 2.2.2 or < 2.3 to be vulnerable)
  5. Update the plugin to version 2.3 or later via the WordPress plugin update mechanism, or download the latest version from wordpress.org
  6. After updating, verify the plugin version shows 2.3 or higher
  7. Test the widget functionality to ensure the update did not break existing functionality
Caveat Review changelog for any breaking changes between your current version and 2.3; test in staging environment first if possible

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Essential Widgets Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,210
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,936.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-67543 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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