Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from Vendor (WPScan) · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorVendor: WPScan
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Lifecycle Timeline
5DescriptionCVE.org
The Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Spam protection WordPress plugin before 6.79 does not properly sanitize content within a custom shortcode used in its email-encoding feature, allowing unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts into approved comments that will execute when any user (including administrators) views the post.
Articles & Coverage 1
AnalysisAI
Stored cross-site scripting in the Anti-Spam by CleanTalk Spam Protection WordPress plugin before 6.79 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to inject arbitrary JavaScript into approved comments via a custom shortcode in the email-encoding feature, with execution occurring when any visitor or administrator views the affected post. Publicly available exploit code exists per WPScan, increasing exposure for the plugin's large WordPress installation base, though it requires user interaction (UI:R) to trigger the payload. The high CVSS score of 8.8 reflects the potential for administrator account compromise leading to full site takeover.
Technical ContextAI
The vulnerability resides in the email-encoding feature of the Anti-Spam by CleanTalk plugin (CPE cpe:2.3:a:unknown:anti-spam_by_cleantalk._spam_protection), which exposes a custom shortcode that fails to sanitize user-supplied content before rendering it in the comment context. The root cause is CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation), meaning attacker-supplied HTML and JavaScript embedded inside the shortcode passes through to the rendered DOM without escaping or filtering. Because WordPress shortcodes are expanded server-side at page render, the malicious script becomes a persistent (stored) XSS payload tied to an approved comment, executing in any visitor's browser within the trusted origin of the WordPress site.
RemediationAI
Upgrade the Anti-Spam by CleanTalk Spam Protection plugin to version 6.79 or later, which is the vendor-released patch confirmed by the WPScan advisory (https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/0d4635b5-2d79-4337-a1ad-6b8d02cfd64b/) and the EUVD record. If immediate patching is not possible, compensating controls include moderating all incoming comments manually to prevent untrusted shortcode payloads from being approved (trade-off: increased administrative overhead and delayed legitimate comments), temporarily deactivating the plugin's email-encoding feature or the plugin itself if comment spam protection can be substituted (trade-off: loss of anti-spam coverage exposing the site to comment spam flooding), and deploying a Web Application Firewall rule to block shortcode payloads containing script tags or JavaScript event handlers in comment submissions (trade-off: potential false positives on legitimate technical discussions). Audit existing approved comments for malicious shortcode content even after upgrading, since stored XSS payloads persist in the database.
Same weakness CWE-79 – Cross-site Scripting (XSS)
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-35986
GHSA-jqmp-cmj4-fv28