EUVD-2026-42841
GHSA-cfxv-7hcj-vfr5
Severity by source
AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Administrator authentication (PR:H) and non-default unfiltered_html restriction (AC:H) are both mandatory; scope change captures cross-user XSS impact on other browsers.
Primary rating from Vendor (Wordfence).
CVSS VectorVendor: Wordfence
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
The Highlighting Code Block plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via admin settings in all versions up to, and including, 2.2.0 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrator-level permissions and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. This only affects multi-site installations and installations where unfiltered_html has been disabled.
AnalysisAI
Stored Cross-Site Scripting in the Highlighting Code Block WordPress plugin (versions ≤ 2.2.0) allows authenticated attackers holding administrator-level permissions to inject persistent malicious scripts via the plugin's admin settings panel, with those scripts executing in the browsers of any user who subsequently visits an affected page. Exploitation is constrained to WordPress multi-site network installations or single-site deployments where the unfiltered_html capability has been explicitly disabled - conditions that are non-default and substantially narrow the attacker population. …
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Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata
Vulnerability AssessmentAI
| Exploitation | Exploitation requires two simultaneous conditions: (1) an authenticated session with WordPress administrator-level permissions or higher - the CVSS PR:H metric confirms this; and (2) a non-default WordPress deployment where the unfiltered_html capability is restricted, specifically either a WordPress multi-site (network) installation where site-level administrators do not hold super-admin status, or a single-site installation where unfiltered_html has been explicitly disabled via the DISALLOW_UNFILTERED_HTML constant or a security hardening plugin. … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment. |
| Risk Assessment | The vendor-assigned CVSS 4.4 Medium score accurately characterizes the constrained real-world risk. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in. |
| Exploit Scenario | An attacker who has obtained administrator-level credentials on a WordPress multi-site network navigates to the Highlighting Code Block plugin settings panel and injects a JavaScript payload - such as a cookie-stealing script - into an admin settings field that lacks proper sanitization. The payload is written to the database and subsequently rendered without escaping on any page where the plugin's output appears, causing the malicious script to execute silently in the browsers of all visiting users, including other administrators, enabling session hijacking or further lateral movement within the WordPress environment. |
| Remediation | The primary remediation is to update the Highlighting Code Block plugin to a version beyond 2.2.0 once a patched release is published to the WordPress plugin directory. … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report. |
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Same weakness CWE-79 – Cross-site Scripting (XSS)
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External POC / Exploit Code
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