Sticky <= 2.5.6 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'readmoretext' Shortcode Attribute
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- 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 Sticky plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the `cvmh-sticky` shortcode `readmoretext` attribute in versions up to and including 2.5.6. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in the `cvmh_sticky_front_render()` function — the `readmoretext` attribute value is passed through `apply_filters()` and directly concatenated into the HTML output without any escaping function such as `esc_html()`. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with Contributor-level access and above to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses a page containing the injected shortcode.
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
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-6397
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-c2q9-qp4m-w7vm
References
Other 5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/135783c5-8175-4775-a013-f1e2bef04479?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/sticky/trunk/includes/functions.php#L118
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/sticky/tags/2.5.6/includes/functions.php#L118
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/sticky/trunk/includes/shortcode.php#L7
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/sticky/tags/2.5.6/includes/shortcode.php#L7
Sources
- CVE-2026-6397 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-6397 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-c2q9-qp4m-w7vm · 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