Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain or register WordPress Contributor account
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DeliveryCraft shortcode with hex-encoded XSS payload in fallback attribute
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ExploitSubmit post - wp_kses_post bypassed at save time
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ExecutionVictim visits injected page
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Persistshortcode_parse_atts() calls stripcslashes(), decoding hex escapes
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ImpactMalicious script executes in victim's browser
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Output encoding, context-aware escaping
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires a WordPress account with at least Contributor-level privileges - the minimum role needed to publish or submit shortcode-containing posts. The My Calendar plugin must be installed and active, with the specific shortcodes exposing the |
| Impact | The CVSS 6.4 score with scope change (S:C) is well-calibrated: stored XSS that executes in arbitrary visitors' browsers enables session cookie theft, credential harvesting, or malicious redirects beyond the original plugin boundary. The PR:L barrier (Contributor-level WordPress account) is a genuine limiting factor, but contributor accounts are routinely distributed to community members on civic, educational, and news sites. The bypass technique is notably evasion-capable - it specifically circumvents the |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who holds or socially engineers a WordPress Contributor account inserts a shortcode such as |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 09, 2026
Stored Cross-Site Scripting in the My Calendar - Accessible Event Manager WordPress plugin (all versions through 3.8.3) allows authenticated contributors to inject persistent malicious scripts via the fallback/substitute shortcode attributes. The attack exploits a gap between WordPress's save-time and render-time processing: hex-encoded payloads like \x3cscript\x3e pass through wp_kses_post as harmless literal strings at save time, but WordPress core's shortcode_parse_atts() calls stripcslashes() at render time, converting those sequences into live angle brackets before they reach the unescaped output sink. No public exploit code or active exploitation (CISA KEV) has been confirmed; the scope-changed CVSS 6.4 rating reflects impact on any visitor to an injected page.
RemediationAI
Site administrators should update the My Calendar plugin to the version immediately following 3.8.3, which incorporates the fix from GitHub commit 89bbf7314fac84cdb89e520e8b7b6d69eee8dd3c. The exact patched release version number is not independently confirmed from available data - verify the current release on the plugin's WordPress.org page or consult the Wordfence advisory at https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/62c8fb1f-6cba-43cc-8aca-70812c29a63d. As an interim compensating control, audit and revoke Contributor-level (and above) accounts held by untrusted or external parties, since exploitation requires at minimum a Contributor role. Disabling the My Calendar plugin entirely will prevent exploitation but removes all calendar functionality. No server-side WAF rule reliably blocks this bypass given the hex-encoding technique; account access control is the most effective interim mitigation.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The vulnerability (CWE-79) exists in my-calendar-widgets.php and my-calendar-shortcodes.php within the joedolson My Calendar plugin (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:joedolson:my_calendar_-_accessible_event_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*). The affected sink pattern is wp_unslash($args['substitute']) echoed directly into HTML without post-unslash sanitization. The bypass is mechanically interesting: WordPress's wp_kses_post() operates on the raw attribute string at save time and correctly ignores \x3c/\x3e because they are not recognized HTML tag characters. However, when WordPress processes the shortcode at render time, shortcode_parse_atts() internally calls PHP's stripcslashes() on attribute values, decoding C-style hex escapes into real < and > characters. These decoded characters then flow into the unguarded wp_unslash() call, producing executable script tags that were never inspected by any sanitizer. The fix (commit 89bbf7314fac84cdb89e520e8b7b6d69eee8dd3c) wraps all three affected sink locations with wp_kses_post(wp_unslash($args['substitute'])), applying sanitization after unslashing.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Contributor-level auth required (PR:L); stored XSS crosses scope boundary to victim browsers (S:C); no availability impact; fully consistent with Wordfence's provided vector.
Primary rating from Vendor (Wordfence).
CVSS VectorVendor: Wordfence
DescriptionCVE.org
The My Calendar - Accessible Event Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'fallback' Shortcode Attribute in all versions up to, and including, 3.8.3 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. The bypass relies on hex-encoded shortcode attribute payloads (e.g. \x3cscript\x3e), which wp_kses_post cannot strip on save because they appear as literal backslash sequences rather than real HTML tags; WordPress core's shortcode_parse_atts() then calls stripcslashes() at render time, decoding the escapes into real angle brackets before they reach the unescaped sink.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Cross-Site Scripting occurs when an application accepts untrusted data and sends it to a web browser without proper validation or encoding.
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EUVD-2026-74603
GHSA-588q-hr78-m65w
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB