CVE-2026-19902 json
Ad Inserter <= 2.8.18 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via {search-query} Dynamic Tag (Referer Header)
published last mo. modified last mo. also EUVD-2026-90545
- cvss
- 6.1
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.3%
- EPSS 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 17%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
The Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via the Referer header in all versions up to, and including, 2.8.18 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on the '{search-query}' dynamic tag. When an ad block's code contains that tag, replace_ai_tags() reads $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'] and tests it with the regex /[\.\/](google|yahoo|bing|ask)\.[a-z\.]{2,5}[\/]/i. The leading [\.\/] class matches a literal slash, so any referrer merely containing a segment such as '/google.com/' passes as a search-engine referral; the plugin then percent-decodes the referring query with parse_str() and substitutes the resulting 'q' (or 'p') value into the block via preg_replace() with no escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the site for any visitor, including a signed-in administrator, by luring them to an attacker-controlled page that frames or links to any ordinary post. Exploitation requires the site to have an ad block whose code uses the '{search-query}' tag with automatic insertion enabled — a documented plugin feature used as intended.
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Check with FencerCISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
- Assessed
- last mo.
Exploit prediction
0.26% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 17% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 6.1 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N |
Affected products
- spacetime Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-79 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation
- Technology feeds
References
- wordfence.com /threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/5d632cce-40a9-4969-b213-8370ae75287e?source=cve
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/ad-inserter/tags/2.8.18/ad-inserter.php#L13093
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/ad-inserter/tags/2.8.18/ad-inserter.php#L13018
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/ad-inserter/tags/2.8.18/ad-inserter.php#L13022
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/ad-inserter/tags/2.8.18/ad-inserter.php#L13025
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /browser/ad-inserter/tags/2.8.18/class.php#L3297
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /changeset?reponame=&new=3709970%40ad-inserter%2Ftags%2F2.8.19&old=3624916%40ad-inserter%2Ftags%2F2.8.18
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org /changeset/3709957/ad-inserter/trunk/ad-inserter.php
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2026-19902
- NVD CVE-2026-19902
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