CVE-2026-54862 in Import and export users and customers Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/29/2026
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Codection Import and export users and customers import-users-from-csv-with-meta allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Import and export users and customers: from n/a through 2.5.9.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/29/2026
The identified security flaw represents a classic instance of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically categorized under CWE-79 in the Common Weakness Enumeration taxonomy. This vulnerability exists within the Codection plugin for WordPress, particularly affecting versions ranging from n/a through 2.5.9. The core issue lies in the improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation. When administrators utilize the import-users-from-csv-with-meta feature to bulk upload user data via CSV files, the application fails to adequately sanitize or validate the content before storing it in the database and subsequently rendering it on public-facing pages. This lack of rigorous input validation allows malicious actors to inject executable scripts into what should be benign text fields.
From a technical perspective, this is classified as a Stored XSS vulnerability because the injected payload persists within the application's data store rather than being transiently passed via URL parameters or form submissions that are immediately discarded. Once an attacker successfully uploads a CSV file containing malicious JavaScript code embedded within user profile metadata, that script becomes part of the stored content. When any other user, including administrators with elevated privileges, views the affected user profiles or lists generated by the plugin, the browser executes the injected scripts in the context of the vulnerable website. This persistence distinguishes it from reflected XSS and significantly increases its potential for widespread impact, as every page view serves as a trigger event for the malicious code.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to the typical privilege levels associated with WordPress administrators who manage user imports. If an attacker can trick an administrator into importing a crafted CSV file containing script tags or event handlers such onerror or onload attributes, they achieve remote code execution within the victim's browser session. This capability allows for account takeover through cookie theft, session hijacking, and credential harvesting. Furthermore, attackers can perform actions on behalf of the authenticated user, modify site content, deface web pages, or redirect users to phishing sites designed to steal sensitive information. The attack aligns with MITRE ATT&CK technique T1059.007 (JavaScript), which describes how adversaries use JavaScript for execution and persistence within browser environments.
Mitigation strategies must address both immediate remediation and long-term defensive posture. The primary solution is to upgrade the Codection plugin to a version greater than 2.5.9, where developers have presumably implemented proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms such as htmlspecialchars or equivalent functions that escape special characters before rendering them in HTML contexts. For organizations unable to update immediately due to compatibility constraints, temporary workarounds include disabling the specific import functionality if not strictly required, restricting CSV upload permissions to only highly trusted users with strong password hygiene, and implementing a Web Application Firewall rule set capable of detecting and blocking common XSS payloads within POST requests containing file uploads. Additionally, enforcing Content Security Policy headers can help mitigate the impact by preventing the execution of inline scripts unless explicitly whitelisted, thereby reducing the effectiveness of any successfully injected code even if the underlying vulnerability remains unpatched in legacy systems.