CVE-2026-84022 in Bold Page Builder Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/05/2026
The Bold Page Builder WordPress plugin before 5.9.8 does not sanitise and escape several shortcode attributes before outputting them in HTML attributes, allowing users with the Contributor role and above to inject arbitrary web scripts that execute when a user views the affected page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/05/2026
The vulnerability identified within the Bold Page Builder WordPress plugin prior to version 5.9.8 represents a classic instance of Cross-Site Scripting caused by insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms. Specifically, the flaw resides in the handling of several shortcode attributes where the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied data before embedding it into HTML attribute contexts. This architectural oversight allows malicious actors with Contributor role privileges or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript code directly into the page structure. The core technical deficiency is a failure to apply appropriate escaping functions, such as esc_attr in WordPress development standards, which are designed to ensure that special characters like quotes and angle brackets are converted into their safe HTML entity equivalents before rendering.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables stored or reflected cross-site scripting attacks depending on how the shortcode data persists within the database versus immediate execution context. When a victim user with sufficient privileges views a page containing the maliciously crafted shortcode, the browser interprets the injected script as legitimate content belonging to the site. This leads to the execution of arbitrary code in the context of the vulnerable website's domain. The consequences can be severe, including session hijacking through theft of authentication cookies, defacement of the web application interface, redirection of users to malicious phishing sites, or even acting as a vector for further malware distribution if combined with other exploits.
The security implications are significant because they exploit trust relationships within the WordPress ecosystem. By requiring only Contributor level access, the vulnerability lowers the barrier for exploitation compared to vulnerabilities that require Administrator privileges. Attackers can leverage this weakness to compromise not just individual user accounts but potentially gain deeper insights into the server environment or use the compromised site as a pivot point for attacks against other users visiting the page. This aligns with common attack patterns observed in web application security assessments where low-privilege escalation leads to high-impact data exfiltration or system control.
Industry standards classify this type of vulnerability under CWE-79, which denotes Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation commonly known as Cross-site Scripting. More specifically, the failure to escape output in HTML attributes places it within sub-categories focusing on attribute injection vectors. In terms of tactical mapping according to the MITRE ATT&CK framework for web applications, this vulnerability facilitates initial access and potentially credential harvesting through techniques associated with Client-side Injection. The lack of proper sanitization violates fundamental secure coding principles that mandate strict validation against a whitelist of allowed characters and rigorous encoding based on the context in which data is rendered.
Mitigation strategies must focus on immediate patching and long-term code hardening practices. Administrators should upgrade the Bold Page Builder plugin to version 5.9.8 or later, where these sanitization issues have been addressed by the developers. For environments unable to update immediately due to compatibility constraints, temporary workarounds may involve restricting Contributor role capabilities if feasible, though this is often impractical for collaborative sites. Developers integrating similar plugins should audit their codebase for any shortcodes that output user input directly into HTML attributes without employing WordPress core escaping functions like esc_attr_e or esc_js depending on the specific context. Implementing Content Security Policy headers can also provide a layer of defense by restricting script execution sources, thereby mitigating the impact of successful injection attempts even if the underlying vulnerability remains unpatched in legacy systems.