CVE-2026-116520 json
PPWP <= 1.9.26 - Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via '[ppwp]' Shortcode 'desc_below_form' Attribute via Placeholder Marker Collision
published 9d ago modified 7d ago also EUVD-2026-114579
- cvss
- 7.2
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.4%
- EPSS 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 32%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
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.
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Check with FencerCISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
- Assessed
- 8d ago
Exploit prediction
0.38% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 32% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 7.2 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N |
Affected products
- buildwps PPWP – Password Protect Pages
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-79 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation
- Technology feeds
References
- wordfence.com /threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/c549ba14-276e-46ab-8019-97430a566d8c?source=cve
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/password-protect-page/tags/1.9.26/includes/services/class-ppw-shortcode.php#L587
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/password-protect-page/tags/1.9.26/includes/services/class-ppw-shortcode.php#L598
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/password-protect-page/tags/1.9.26/includes/views/shortcode/view-ppw-restriced-content-form.php#L17
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/password-protect-page/tags/1.9.26/includes/services/class-ppw-shortcode.php#L608
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/password-protect-page/tags/1.9.26/includes/services/class-ppw-shortcode.php#L622
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/password-protect-page/tags/1.9.26/includes/services/class-ppw-shortcode.php#L202
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /changeset/3772960/password-protect-page/trunk/includes/services/class-ppw-shortcode.php
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2026-116520
- NVD CVE-2026-116520
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