CVE-2025-8282 affects the widely used SureForms plugin, with over 300,000 active installations, and revolves around a stored cross-site scripting flaw that undermines the integrity of form labels. SureForms allows Editors and Administrators to build complex forms using text blocks with customizable labels and placeholders. However, by embedding malicious JavaScript into the “Label” field when the “Use Labels as Placeholders” option is enabled, an attacker with Editor-level permissions can store a payload that executes whenever any user hovers over the affected form element. This vulnerability leverages the high-privilege context granted to Editors, turning a benign form builder feature into a powerful vector for account takeover and persistent backdoors.
| CVE | CVE-2025-8282 |
| Plugin Version | SureForms < 1.9.1 |
| Critical | High |
| All Time | 1 382 004 |
| Active installations | 300 000+ |
| Publicly Published | August 25, 2025 |
| Last Updated | August 25, 2025 |
| Researcher | Dmitrii Ignatyev |
| PoC | Yes |
| Exploit | No |
| Reference | https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2025-8282 https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/62680106-1313-4ef0-80a5-33e93b4221a1/ |
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Timeline
| July 28, 2025 | Plugin testing and vulnerability detection in the SureForms – Drag and Drop Contact Form Builder – Multi-step Forms, Conversational Forms and more have been completed |
| July 28, 2025 | I contacted the author of the plugin and provided a vulnerability PoC with a description and recommendations for fixing |
| August 25, 2025 | Registered CVE-2025-8282 |
Discovery of the Vulnerability
During a thorough security audit of SureForms, researchers noticed that label input fields under the “Use Labels as Placeholders” setting were inserted directly into HTML attributes without adequate escaping. The plugin’s code applies WordPress’s default sanitization routines, which rely on context-agnostic functions such as sanitize_text_field, but fails to escape quotes and angle brackets when rendering labels into the placeholder attribute. As a result, when a label containing 123" onmouseover=alert(1)// is saved, the next time the form is rendered, the malicious attribute fires as part of the page’s DOM event model. Because this flaw resides in a feature intended for trusted roles, its existence remained undetected until a focused code review highlighted the absence of esc_attr or similar context-aware escaping functions.
Understanding of SSRF attack’s
Stored XSS in WordPress plugins and themes has historically led to severe compromises when malicious scripts persist in the database and execute in the context of privileged users. Notable instances include CVE-2021-24222 in the Ultimate Addons for Elementor plugin, where form names allowed script injection into admin dashboards, and CVE-2022-10147 in the Post Grid plugin, which permitted script storage in grid titles. In both cases, attackers leveraged the unfiltered HTML capabilities granted to Editors or higher roles. WordPress’s unfiltered_html capability effectively trusts certain roles to input arbitrary HTML, but plugin developers must still enforce proper escaping and validation to prevent misuse of that capability. In SureForms, reliance on role-based trust without context-sensitive encoding directly led to stored XSS.
Exploiting the Stored XSS Vulnerability
To exploit CVE-2025-8282, an attacker with editor+ cookies:
POC:
1) Create a new Form 2) Add here Text block 3) Toggle on "Use Labels as Placeholders" settings 4) Change "Label" field to 123" onmouseover=alert(1)// 5) Preview Form and hover on Text block____
Given SureForms’ adoption by corporate, educational, and e-commerce sites, this stored XSS vulnerability presents a critical threat. In a corporate environment, an attacker abusing this flaw could implant a JavaScript backdoor that exfiltrates user session tokens, harvests form submissions containing sensitive data, or deploys further exploits against security plugins. On membership sites, malicious scripts could silently elevate privileges or redirect administrators to phishing pages to capture their credentials. Even if the form is public, attacks could target high-visibility pages to deface content or inject malware. Automated bots may scan for vulnerable forms across tens of thousands of sites, leading to mass compromise campaigns within hours of public disclosure.
Recommendations for Improved Security
To remediate CVE-2025-8282, the SureForms development team must enforce context-aware escaping of all user-provided strings before output. Specifically, any label or placeholder inserted into HTML attributes should be wrapped in esc_attr() to neutralize quotes and event handlers. Moreover, the plugin should validate label values against a strict whitelist of allowed characters, rejecting inputs containing quotation marks or angle brackets. Administrators should update to the patched version immediately and audit all existing form labels for potentially malicious content. As a precaution, consider temporarily disabling the “Use Labels as Placeholders” feature or restricting it to Administrator roles only, and monitor web application firewalls for suspicious attribute patterns until all sites are secured.
By taking proactive measures to address Stored XSS vulnerabilities like CVE-2025-8282 WordPress website owners can enhance their security posture and safeguard against potential exploitation. Stay vigilant, stay secure.
#WordPressSecurity #Stored XSS #WebsiteSafety #StayProtected #HighVulnerability
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Dmitrii I.