Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-23718

High

Published: 03 March 2025

Published
03 March 2025
Modified
23 April 2026
KEV Added
—
Patch
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CVSS Score v3.1 7.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0035 57.6th percentile
Risk Priority 14 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2025-23718 is a high-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 7.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 42.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-15 (Information Output Filtering) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).

Deeper analysis

CVE-2025-23718 is an Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation vulnerability, classified as Reflected Cross-site Scripting (XSS) under CWE-79, in the Mancx AskMe Widget (mancx-askme-widget) WordPress plugin. This issue affects all versions from n/a through 0.3 inclusive, as published on 2025-03-03.

The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L), indicating network accessibility, low attack complexity, no privileges required, but user interaction needed, with changed scope and low impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Remote attackers can exploit it by tricking authenticated or unauthenticated users into interacting with malicious input, such as via a crafted link or request reflected in the web page, potentially leading to script execution in the victim's browser context.

Advisories, including the Patchstack database entry at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Plugin/mancx-askme-widget/vulnerability/wordpress-mancx-askme-widget-plugin-0-3-reflected-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability?_s_id=cve, document the vulnerability in the context of the WordPress plugin.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in mancx Mancx AskMe Widget mancx-askme-widget allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Mancx AskMe Widget: from n/a through <= 0.3.

CWE(s)
CWE-79

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1204.001 Malicious Link Execution
An adversary may rely upon a user clicking a malicious link in order to gain execution.
attack.mitre.org →
Why these techniques?

The reflected XSS vulnerability allows remote exploitation of a public-facing WordPress plugin via crafted links or requests that trigger arbitrary script execution in the victim's browser after user interaction.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-22765Shared CWE-79
CVE-2024-13885Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-23645Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-24017Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-24544Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-68037Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-23725Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-22357Shared CWE-79
CVE-2026-24955Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-23834Shared CWE-79

Affected Assets

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-15 Information Output Filtering good match
prevent

SI-15 mandates filtering information prior to output to web pages, directly preventing reflected XSS by neutralizing malicious input during web page generation.

SI-10 Information Input Validation partial match
prevent

SI-10 requires validation of information inputs, mitigating reflected XSS by rejecting or sanitizing malicious payloads before they are reflected in responses.

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

SI-2 ensures timely remediation of flaws like this plugin's XSS vulnerability through patching or removal, eliminating the root cause.

References