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CVE-2026-116520

Full vulnerability record from the local CVENow database.

Description

The PPWP – Password Protect Pages plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'comment / shortcode attribute desc_below_form (and placeholder as the marker-smuggling helper)' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.9.26 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. This is exploitable by unauthenticated attackers because WordPress's comment_content filter leaves bare shortcode text (containing no HTML tags) untouched, and the comment_whitelist setting auto-approves subsequent comments from a previously approved name and email without administrator intervention.

Severity
HIGH
CVSS score
7.2 (v3.1)
Vulnerability status
Received
Source identifier
Published
2026-10-31 06:16:32.630000
Last modified
2026-10-31 06:16:32.630000
View original CVE JSON
{
  "id": "CVE-2026-116520",
  "sourceIdentifier": "[email protected]",
  "published": "2026-10-31T06:16:32.630",
  "lastModified": "2026-10-31T06:16:32.630",
  "vulnStatus": "Received",
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "The PPWP – Password Protect Pages plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'comment / shortcode attribute desc_below_form (and placeholder as the marker-smuggling helper)' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.9.26 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. This is exploitable by unauthenticated attackers because WordPress's comment_content filter leaves bare shortcode text (containing no HTML tags) untouched, and the comment_whitelist setting auto-approves subsequent comments from a previously approved name and email without administrator intervention."
    }
  ],
  "affected": [
    {
      "source": "[email protected]",
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "vendor": "buildwps",
          "product": "PPWP – Password Protect Pages",
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "versions": [
            {
              "version": "0",
              "lessThanOrEqual": "1.9.26",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "affected"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "source": "[email protected]",
        "type": "Primary",
        "cvssData": {
          "version": "3.1",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N",
          "baseScore": 7.2,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "scope": "CHANGED",
          "confidentialityImpact": "LOW",
          "integrityImpact": "LOW",
          "availabilityImpact": "NONE"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 3.9,
        "impactScore": 2.7
      }
    ]
  },
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "source": "[email protected]",
      "type": "Primary",
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-79"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/password-protect-page/tags/1.9.26/includes/services/class-ppw-shortcode.php#L202",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/password-protect-page/tags/1.9.26/includes/services/class-ppw-shortcode.php#L587",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/password-protect-page/tags/1.9.26/includes/services/class-ppw-shortcode.php#L598",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/password-protect-page/tags/1.9.26/includes/services/class-ppw-shortcode.php#L608",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/password-protect-page/tags/1.9.26/includes/services/class-ppw-shortcode.php#L622",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/password-protect-page/tags/1.9.26/includes/views/shortcode/view-ppw-restriced-content-form.php#L17",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3772960/password-protect-page/trunk/includes/services/class-ppw-shortcode.php",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/c549ba14-276e-46ab-8019-97430a566d8c?source=cve",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    }
  ]
}