CVE-2025-23489

WordPress WP-Announcements plugin <= 1.8 - Reflected Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability

Published Jan 21, 2025 CVSS 3.1 · 7.1 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed

Description

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Brian Messenlehner WP-Announcements wp-announcements allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects WP-Announcements: from n/a through <= 1.8.

Analysis

Technical impact

Improper neutralization of user input during web page generation in the WP‑Announcements plugin allows reflected cross‑site scripting. The vulnerability is a classic input‑validation flaw (CWE‑79) that can enable attackers to inject arbitrary script into a page viewed by other users, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or defacement.

Affected Systems

The vulnerability affects the WordPress plugin WP‑Announcements from the vendor Brian Messenlehner, for all releases up to and including version 1.8. Users running any versions 1.8 or earlier are impacted, regardless of the WordPress core version.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 7.1 indicates a high severity, while the EPSS score of less than 1% denotes a low likelihood of exploitation. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. It is likely exploitable via a crafted URL that, when visited by an authenticated or unauthenticated user, reflects malicious script back into the page. The requirement for user interaction and unprivileged access makes this a moderate‑to‑high risk scenario, warranting prompt remediation.

Affected Products

Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).

Vendor Product Default status Versions

Brian Messenlehner

WP-Announcements

unaffected

Version	Status	Constraints
`0`	affected	≤ 1.8

No data.

No data available yet.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

Upgrade the WP‑Announcements plugin to the latest available version, which removes the input neutralization flaw.
If an upgrade is not immediately possible, completely remove the WP‑Announcements plugin from the installation until a patched version is released.
Apply strict content‑security‑policy headers or XSS protection headers at the web‑server level to mitigate reflected script execution for any remaining vulnerable content.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on May 1, 2026 at 19:55 UTC.

Tracking

Advisories

Source	ID	Title
EUVD	EUVD-2025-3206	Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Brian Messenlehner of WebDevStudios WP-Announcements allows Reflected XSS. This issue affects WP-Announcements: from n/a through 1.8.

Metrics

No CVSS v4.0

Attack Vector Network

Attack Complexity Low

Privileges Required None

Scope Changed

Confidentiality Impact Low

Integrity Impact Low

Availability Impact Low

User Interaction Required

No CVSS v3.0

No CVSS v2

This CVE is not in the KEV list.

Exploit prediction score: < 1% (0.238% probability within 30 days)

Exploitation none

Automatable no

Technical Impact partial

References

Link	Providers
https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Plugin/wp-announcements/vulnerability/wordpress-wp-announcements-plugin-1-8-reflected-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability?_s_id=cve

History

Apr 23, 2026 3:00 PM Scoring metrics updated View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Metrics		cvssV3_1 `{'score': 7.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L'}`

Apr 1, 2026 11:45 PM Description updated. References updated. Scoring metrics updated View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Description	Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Brian Messenlehner of WebDevStudios WP-Announcements allows Reflected XSS. This issue affects WP-Announcements: from n/a through 1.8.	Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Brian Messenlehner WP-Announcements wp-announcements allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects WP-Announcements: from n/a through <= 1.8.
References	https://patchstack.com/database/wordpress/plugin/wp-announcements/vulnerability/wordpress-wp-announcements-plugin-1-8-reflected-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability?_s_id=cve	https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Plugin/wp-announcements/vulnerability/wordpress-wp-announcements-plugin-1-8-reflected-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
Metrics	cvssV3_1 `{'score': 7.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L'}`

Jan 21, 2025 7:15 PM Scoring metrics updated View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Metrics		ssvc `{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}`

Jan 21, 2025 5:30 PM Description updated. Title updated. Weaknesses updated. Added references. Scoring metrics updated View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Description		Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Brian Messenlehner of WebDevStudios WP-Announcements allows Reflected XSS. This issue affects WP-Announcements: from n/a through 1.8.
Title		WordPress WP-Announcements plugin <= 1.8 - Reflected Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability
Weaknesses		CWE-79
References		https://patchstack.com/database/wordpress/plugin/wp-announcements/vulnerability/wordpress-wp-announcements-plugin-1-8-reflected-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
Metrics		cvssV3_1 `{'score': 7.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L'}`