WP Blockade <= 0.9.14 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via 'shortcode' Parameter
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Cross-site scripting
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · Low · None
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-79.
Summary
The WP Blockade plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via the 'shortcode' parameter in all versions up to and including 0.9.14. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in the render_shortcode_preview() function. The function receives user input from $_GET['shortcode'], passes it through stripslashes() without any sanitization, and then outputs it directly via echo do_shortcode($shortcode) on line 393. When the input is not a valid WordPress shortcode (e.g., an HTML tag with JavaScript event handlers), do_shortcode() returns it unchanged, and it is reflected into the page without escaping. The endpoint is registered via admin_post_ (not admin_post_nopriv_), meaning it requires the user to be logged in with at minimum a Subscriber-level account. There is no nonce verification or additional capability check. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute if they can successfully trick a user into performing an action such as clicking a link.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| burlingtonbytes | WP Blockade – Visual Page Builder | up to 0.9.14 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- WP Blockade – Visual Page Builder Vendorburlingtonbytes Affected up to 0.9.14 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-3481
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-p9mp-xq3w-289v
References
Other 5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/66950509-ce2a-42fe-a8b2-2a92a1b573c3?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-blockade/trunk/wp-blockade.php#L393
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-blockade/tags/0.9.14/wp-blockade.php#L393
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-blockade/trunk/wp-blockade.php#L360
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-blockade/tags/0.9.14/wp-blockade.php#L360
More burlingtonbytes vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-02999 Missing authorization in burlingtonbytes WP Blockade – Visual Page Builder CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
Sources
- CVE-2026-3481 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-3481 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-p9mp-xq3w-289v · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences