Description

Contributor Cross Site Scripting (XSS) in Wufoo Shortcode <= 1.55 versions.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "6.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-18T15:16:59.037Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-18T15:16:59.037Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in the Wufoo Shortcode plugin affecting versions 1.55 and prior. This security flaw allows authenticated users with low-privileged roles, specifically contributors, to inject and persist malicious scripts within web pages generated by the plugin. The primary impact of this vulnerability involves arbitrary script execution within the context of a victim's browser session when interacting with vulnerable posts or pages. If successfully exploited, an attacker could potentially hijack administrative sessions, manipulate page content, or perform unauthorized actions on behalf of other users. The risk implication is moderate to high depending on the privileges of the targeted victim interacting with the malicious payload. Exploitation requires the attacker to possess at least Contributor-level privileges within the vulnerable WordPress installation to create or edit posts utilizing the flawed shortcode parameters. No complex cryptographic or memory corruption techniques are necessary, as the vulnerability stems from improper input validation and insufficient output encoding within the affected component.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability resides in the Wufoo Shortcode plugin <= 1.55 within the input handling and rendering logic responsible for processing shortcode attributes. The root cause of the security defect is the lack of proper sanitization of user-supplied input and the absence of adequate contextual output encoding before rendering data back to the Document Object Model (DOM). Specifically, parameters accepted by the shortcode fail to undergo rigorous validation to strip or neutralize HTML markup and JavaScript vectors. Attack flow begins when an authenticated adversary with Contributor-level access crafts a malicious post or page incorporating the Wufoo Shortcode with embedded JavaScript payloads within vulnerable attributes. Because contributors can submit content for review, the crafted payload is successfully saved to the database without triggering immediate rejection by the application layer. When an administrator or a privileged user reviews, previews, or views the rendered page containing the malicious shortcode, the server processes the input and outputs the unsanitized payload directly into the HTTP response. The browser of the victim subsequently parses the response and executes the injected script within the security context of the origin site. The attack vector is localized to the web application layer, exposing the system to stored Cross-Site Scripting. Payload behavior typically encompasses executing arbitrary JavaScript to steal session cookies, capture sensitive authentication tokens, or force the victim's browser to execute unauthorized administrative requests via Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) chains. Post-exploitation impact scales with the privileges of the user viewing the affected content, potentially leading to full compromise of the underlying application if an administrator falls victim to the execution flow."
}