# CVE-2025-15378: AJS Footnotes <= 1.0 - Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting

> Unauthenticated attackers can inject arbitrary scripts into WordPress pages via the AJS Footnotes plugin, potentially leading to session hijacking or malicious actions.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hhp5-wr44-w3j5

## What is CVE-2025-15378?

CVE-2025-15378 is a high-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in ajseidl AJS Footnotes, published on 14 Jan 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The AJS Footnotes plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'note_list_class' and 'popup_display_effect_in' parameters in all versions up to, and including, 1.0 due to missing authorization and nonce verification on settings save, as well as insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to update plugin settings and inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-15378?


## How do I fix CVE-2025-15378?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-15378 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-15378 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-15378 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-15378 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-15378 is a high-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in ajseidl AJS Footnotes, published on 14 Jan 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-15378 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: ajseidl AJS Footnotes. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-15378/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-15378/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-15378
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-15378
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-15378

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-15378/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.