Stored cross-site scripting in Meta Box WordPress plugin
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- 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 Meta Box (A Framework for Dynamic Websites) WordPress plugin is affected in all versions up to and including 5.15.2. Insufficient sanitization and escaping of attacker-chosen background field keys enables stored cross-site scripting (CWE-79). An authenticated attacker with subscriber-level access can inject scripts that run when a user opens an affected page. This requires a consuming plugin or theme that exposes the background field to low-privileged users.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
Description from the CNA
The Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'profile_background[<attacker-chosen key>]' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 5.15.2 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. Exploitability depends on a consuming plugin or theme built on Meta Box that exposes the background field to lower-privileged users and renders stored values via the rwmb_the_value()/format_single_value() pattern; the effective minimum privilege is whatever role that consumer permits, demonstrated at Subscriber level.
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
The sources list no fixed version for Meta Box (A Framework for Dynamic Websites).
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
Timeline
- 2026-10-29 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-109216
- 2026-10-29 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-29 Alias added: GHSA-74q7-5hgm-hhc8
References
Other 5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/7a8948f5-8bcf-48f2-b3a6-bfa24ba9bef0?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/meta-box/tags/5.15.2/inc/fields/background.php#L154
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/meta-box/tags/5.15.2/inc/sanitizer.php#L170
- https://github.com/wpmetabox/meta-box/pull/1709
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/meta-box/tags/5.15.3/inc/fields/background.php
More metabox vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-01119 Meta Box < 5.9.4 - Contributor+ Arbitrary Posts' Custom Field Disclosure CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 4.3
- TI-2026-11316 Improper privilege management in metabox Meta Box Frontend Submission CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-12241 Missing authorization in metabox Meta Box AIO CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2025-13408 Meta Box <= 5.11.1 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Arbitrary File Deletion CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.2
- TI-2019-11000 The Meta Box plugin before 4.16.2 for WordPress mishandles the uploading of files to custom folders. CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.5
- TI-2019-10999 The Meta Box plugin before 4.16.3 for WordPress allows file deletion via ajax, with the… CVSS 3.0MEDIUM 6.5
Sources
- CVE-2026-109216 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-109216 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-74q7-5hgm-hhc8 · 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