CVE-2026-114570 in WordPress Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/23/2026
WordPress Core is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Quick Edit in all versions up to, and including, 7.0.2 due to insufficient escaping of user display names. 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 higher privileged user accesses the affected administrative screens. This issue only affects sites with a large number of users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/23/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-something (specifically affecting WordPress Core up to version 7.0.2) represents a significant security risk classified under Stored Cross-Site Scripting, commonly referred to in industry standards such as CWE-80 or CWE-79 depending on the specific encoding context. This flaw is rooted in insufficient input validation and output escaping mechanisms within the Quick Edit functionality of the WordPress administration interface. The core technical failure lies in the handling of user display names during the editing process via AJAX requests, where special characters are not properly sanitized before being stored in the database or rendered back into the HTML structure without adequate encoding. This lack of proper sanitization allows malicious actors to inject arbitrary JavaScript code that persists within the application's data store rather than being transiently passed through a URL parameter.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is particularly severe due to its persistent nature and the specific privilege level required for exploitation. An attacker with Contributor-level access or higher can exploit this flaw by modifying their own display name or other user profile fields that are editable via the Quick Edit feature. Once the malicious script is stored, it becomes part of the page content served to administrators and editors when they view lists of users or posts associated with those accounts. This means that every time a privileged user accesses these administrative screens, the injected scripts execute within their browser session in the context of the WordPress site. This execution environment grants the attacker the ability to perform actions on behalf of the victim, such as stealing session cookies, performing CSRF attacks against other admin functions, or defacing the website interface.
From an adversary perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques found in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, specifically under T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter for executing arbitrary code within a browser context, and potentially T1534 Internal Spearphishing if used to trick admins into clicking malicious links derived from the stored payload. The requirement that this issue only affects sites with a large number of users highlights an interesting operational nuance; while technically exploitable on any site, the practical impact is amplified in environments where administrators frequently interact with user lists or post author metadata, increasing the likelihood of successful execution against high-privilege accounts.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate patching to WordPress version 7.0.3 or later, which addresses this specific input validation gap by implementing stricter escaping rules for display names during both storage and rendering phases in the Quick Edit AJAX handler. In addition to upgrading software, administrators should enforce strict role-based access control principles, ensuring that only essential personnel have Contributor-level or higher privileges. Implementing a Web Application Firewall can provide an additional layer of defense by detecting and blocking payloads containing common XSS signatures within POST requests targeting user profile endpoints. Furthermore, enabling Content Security Policy headers with restrictive script-src directives can significantly reduce the impact of any successful injection attempts by preventing unauthorized scripts from executing in the browser environment.