Description

Unauthenticated Cross Site Scripting (XSS) in Templately <= 3.7.1 versions.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "7.1",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-18T15:16:59.693Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-18T15:16:59.693Z",
  "executiveSummary": "An unauthenticated Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability has been identified in the Templately plugin, affecting versions up to and including 3.7.1. This security flaw enables remote, unauthenticated threat actors to inject malicious client-side scripts, typically JavaScript, into victim browsers via vulnerable application parameters.\nThe primary impact of this vulnerability involves the potential execution of arbitrary script code in the context of a targeted user's session. If successfully exploited, attackers can hijack administrative or standard user sessions, steal sensitive session tokens, manipulate Document Object Model (DOM) elements, or perform unauthorized actions on behalf of the authenticated user.\nThe affected product is Templately, specifically all plugin versions <= 3.7.1. The risk implication is significant due to the unauthenticated nature of the flaw, lowering the attack complexity and barrier to entry for malicious entities scanning for vulnerable WordPress instances.\nExploitation requirements include network access to the target web application and the ability to craft malicious requests or URLs containing the payload. No prior authentication, special privileges, or user interaction beyond visiting a malicious link or interacting with compromised functionality are inherently required for successful injection, though execution relies on rendering the payload within the context of a user session.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability resides in the input handling and output encoding mechanisms of the Templately plugin for versions <= 3.7.1. Specifically, the root cause stems from the application accepting user-supplied data without proper sanitization, validation, or contextual output encoding before reflecting it back to the client or processing it within the application response.\nBecause the flaw is unauthenticated, attackers do not require valid credentials or session cookies to interact with the vulnerable endpoint. Network exposure is external, meaning any remote attacker with HTTP or HTTPS access to the web server hosting the vulnerable Templately plugin can initiate an attack vector.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: First, the attacker crafts a malicious HTTP request or URL incorporating a crafted payload containing executable JavaScript code intended to bypass weak validation checks. Second, the attacker induces a victim user to execute the request, often via phishing links, or the payload is rendered directly when processing the unauthenticated request parameters. Third, the vulnerable component processes the input and reflects or stores the raw, unescaped payload within the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) response sent to the browser.\nUpon receiving the malicious response, the victim's browser parses the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) payload, failing to differentiate between legitimate application code and the injected script. The payload behavior executes immediately within the security context of the victim's session, granting the injected script access to document cookies, local storage, session storage, and DOM elements.\nPost-exploitation impact varies depending on the privileges of the targeted victim. If an administrative user falls victim to the XSS payload, the injected script can execute administrative functions, create new rogue administrator accounts, install malicious plugins, or pivot further into the underlying hosting infrastructure. For standard users, session hijacking and data exfiltration remain primary threats."
}