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CMB2 EUVDEUVD-2026-89920

| CVE-2026-97270 MEDIUM
Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (CWE-79)
2026-09-30 Patchstack GHSA-xh86-5mh6-mjrq
6.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Patchstack
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Register or use Subscriber account
  2. Delivery
    Submit XSS payload into CMB2 field
  3. Exploit
    Payload stored without sanitization
  4. Execution
    Privileged user views injected content
  5. Persist
    Script executes in victim browser session
  6. Impact
    Session hijack or admin-context actions

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

Requires an authenticated account with at least Subscriber privileges (PR:L), so the target site must permit that role - most impactful where open self-registration is enabled. Exploitation also requires victim user interaction (UI:R): a privileged user must view the attacker-injected content for the script to execute. Limited to CMB2 versions <= 2.13.0. The impact is confined to script execution in the victim's browser/session context (scope change to the site origin), not direct server-side code execution. The specific vulnerable CMB2 field or output sink is not identified in the available data.

Impact

This is a stored/reflected Cross-Site Scripting flaw in CMB2, scored CVSS 3.1 6.5 (Medium) with vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L. The CVSS vector shows network attack vector and low attack complexity, but two factors materially constrain real-world risk: PR:L means the attacker must already hold at least a Subscriber-level authenticated account, and UI:R means a victim must interact (view the injected content) for the payload to fire. The scope change (S:C) reflects script executing in the victim's browser session against the WordPress admin/site origin, but the impact metrics are only Low across confidentiality, integrity, and availability - consistent with typical session-context XSS rather than server compromise. No EPSS score, KEV listing, POC, or SSVC data was supplied, and none of these signals indicate elevated exploitation likelihood. Net assessment: a genuine but low-to-medium priority vulnerability - patch in normal cadence. The Subscriber precondition plus required user interaction make mass, unauthenticated exploitation unlikely; this favors targeted abuse on sites that permit self-registration. The description is sparse and names no specific parameter, field, or sink, so the exact injection point cannot be confirmed from the provided data.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

On a WordPress site running CMB2 <= 2.13.0 that allows open user registration, an attacker registers a low-privilege Subscriber account and submits a payload into a CMB2-rendered field that is stored and later rendered without proper output encoding. When an administrator or other user views that content, the injected JavaScript executes in their browser session (scope change), enabling session/cookie theft or actions in the victim's authenticated context. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 30, 2026

Cross-site scripting in the CMB2 WordPress plugin affects all versions up to and including 2.13.0, allowing an attacker with only Subscriber-level access to inject script that executes inside a privileged user's browser session. Successful exploitation requires the target site to permit low-privilege accounts (most impactful where open self-registration is enabled) and requires a victim to view the injected content, matching the assessed vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L (6.5 Medium); because the scope changes, injected script runs in the context of the site origin rather than a sandboxed component. No public exploit code or confirmed active exploitation was identified at time of analysis, and the impact is limited to browser-side script execution rather than server-side code execution.

RemediationAI

No vendor-released patch is identified in the provided data, so the first action is to confirm the current fixed version directly from the Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/wordpress/plugin/cmb2/vulnerability/wordpress-cmb2-plugin-2-13-0-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability?_s_id=cve and apply the corresponding CMB2 update as soon as it is confirmed; do not assume that upgrading to 2.13.0 resolves the issue, since that version is explicitly within the affected range. Because CMB2 is frequently bundled inside themes and other plugins, inventory every component that embeds the library and update those parent components rather than relying on the standalone plugin entry in the WordPress admin. If no fixed build is available, the highest-value compensating control is to remove the attacker foothold by disabling open user self-registration and stripping unnecessary Subscriber accounts, accepting the trade-off that legitimate low-privilege sign-ups will need manual provisioning; additionally, use a WordPress security plugin or server-level rules to restrict which roles can submit or edit content that flows into CMB2 fields, and deploy a Content Security Policy that disallows inline script on administrative and front-end templates (noting that strict CSP can break themes and plugins that rely on inline JavaScript and requires testing). If CMB2 is not actively used by any installed theme or plugin, deactivate and delete it to eliminate the attack surface entirely. Finally, add HTML output escaping to custom integrations that render CMB2 field values, understanding that this requires developer effort and cannot be applied retroactively to unmaintained third-party code.

Affected VersionsENISA

CMB2 n/a ≤2.13.0

Affected Packages

euvd cmb2 no fix

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

CMB2 is a developer-oriented library distributed as a WordPress plugin that provides an API for registering custom metaboxes, fields, and repeatable field groups used by themes and other plugins. The flaw is a CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation) issue in which attacker-supplied content tied to a CMB2 field or its rendered output is not adequately escaped before being written into an HTML page. The CVSS vector's scope-change component (S:C) indicates that the injected content breaks out of its intended rendering context and executes with the privileges of the surrounding site origin, which is why the confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts are rated Low rather than None despite the non-persistent server-side impact. The input data records the affected CPE as cpe:2.3:a:justin_sternberg:cmb2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* (a wildcard bound on the affected range) and does not identify the specific vulnerable CMB2 field type or output sink, so defenders should treat any plugin, theme, or custom integration that renders CMB2 field values without escaping as potentially in scope. The vulnerability was reported through the Patchstack vulnerability database and is tracked against the WordPress plugin ecosystem, which means the exposure surface is transitive: sites are affected whenever a bundled or dependent component loads a vulnerable CMB2 copy, not only when CMB2 is installed and activated directly.

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Severity by source

Vendor (Patchstack) PRIMARY 6.5 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
vuln.today AI 6.5 MEDIUM

Network XSS requiring a Subscriber account (PR:L) and victim interaction (UI:R); script runs cross-context (S:C) with limited C/I/A impact, matching the reported vector.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (Patchstack).

CVSS VectorVendor: Patchstack

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

DescriptionCVE.org

Subscriber Cross Site Scripting (XSS) in CMB2 <= 2.13.0 versions.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 88% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
widely-used WordPress metabox/custom-field developer framework and plugin
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

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.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

32
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +32
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

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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