CVE-2026-116520

PPWP <= 1.9.26 - Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via '[ppwp]' Shortcode 'desc_below_form' Attribute via Placeholder Marker Collision

Published Oct 31, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 7.2 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
The PPWP – Password Protect Pages plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'comment / shortcode attribute desc_below_form (and placeholder as the marker-smuggling helper)' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.9.26 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. This is exploitable by unauthenticated attackers because WordPress's comment_content filter leaves bare shortcode text (containing no HTML tags) untouched, and the comment_whitelist setting auto-approves subsequent comments from a previously approved name and email without administrator intervention.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories available
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description The PPWP – Password Protect Pages plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'comment / shortcode attribute desc_below_form (and placeholder as the marker-smuggling helper)' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.9.26 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. This is exploitable by unauthenticated attackers because WordPress's comment_content filter leaves bare shortcode text (containing no HTML tags) untouched, and the comment_whitelist setting auto-approves subsequent comments from a previously approved name and email without administrator intervention.
Title PPWP <= 1.9.26 - Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via '[ppwp]' Shortcode 'desc_below_form' Attribute via Placeholder Marker Collision
Weaknesses CWE-79
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.2, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N'}

Subscriptions

No data.

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Wordfence
Published
Updated
Nov 1, 2026, 5:44 PM
Reserved
Oct 26, 2026, 2:02 PM
Status
Deferred
Published
Oct 31, 2026, 6:16 AM
Modified
Nov 2, 2026, 4:19 PM