Relevanssi <= 4.28.1 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting
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 Relevanssi – A Better Search plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting in versions up to, and including, 4.28.1 via the 's', 'post_types', and 'orderby' request parameters. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in the relevanssi_debug_array() function in lib/debug.php, which dumps user-supplied query variables through print_r() inside a <pre> block without HTML escaping. The debug path is enabled by supplying the relevanssi_debug=on request parameter when the administrator has previously enabled the 'Debugging mode' setting; the gate itself is a configuration check with no capability, nonce, or logged-in check (the vendor explicitly suppresses nonce verification on that line). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that execute if they can successfully trick a user into performing an action such as clicking on a specially crafted 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
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-19985
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-342h-68mm-3pfr
References
Other 12
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/d07fe28c-f76e-42b2-b894-be316004235a?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/relevanssi/tags/4.27.2/lib/search.php#L132
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/relevanssi/tags/4.27.2/lib/search.php#L143
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/relevanssi/tags/4.28.1/lib/debug.php#L68
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/relevanssi/tags/4.28.1/lib/search.php#L132
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/relevanssi/tags/4.28.1/lib/search.php#L143
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/relevanssi/tags/4.28.1/lib/debug.php#L27
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/relevanssi/tags/4.28.1/lib/search.php#L562
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/relevanssi/tags/4.27.2/lib/debug.php#L68
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/relevanssi/tags/4.27.2/lib/debug.php#L27
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/relevanssi/tags/4.27.2/lib/search.php#L562
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&new=3650355%40relevanssi%2Ftrunk&old=3529670%40relevanssi%2Ftrunk&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=
More comesio vulnerabilities
- TI-2023-06585 Relevanssi (Free < 4.22.0, Premium < 2.25.0) - Unauthenticated Private/Draft Post Disclosure CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2024-01287 Missing authorization in comesio Relevanssi Premium CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2024-08374 Relevanssi < 4.23.1 - Contributor+ Stored XSS CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.4
- TI-2024-03012 Relevanssi – A Better Search <= 4.22.1 - Unauthenticated Second Order CSV Injection CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2025-03923 Relevanssi <= 4.24.4 (Free) and <= 2.27.5 (Premium) - Unauthenticated SQL Injection CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2024-03011 Relevanssi – A Better Search <= 4.22.1 - Missing Authorization to Unauthenticated Count Option Update CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.2
Sources
- CVE-2026-19985 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-19985 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-342h-68mm-3pfr · 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