WordPress Core <= 7.0.2 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Emoji Settings Element

2026-08-08 00:00
Asaf Mozes

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 4.7.34
Affected Core
WordPress 7.0
Affected Version
4.7.0 – 7.0.2 · 24 branches
CVSS
6.4Medium
Weakness type
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE
CVE pending
View all WordPress 7.0 vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the WordPress 7.0 WordPress release line, affecting 4.7.0 – 7.0.2 · 24 branches. It carries a CVSS score of 6.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Contributor level or above. The issue is fixed in version 4.7.34; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2026, reported by Asaf Mozes.

Vulnerability Overview

WordPress Core is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the emoji settings element in all versions up to, and including, 7.0.2 due to insufficient restrictions on submitted post content. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in posts that will execute whenever a user previews the affected post.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user.

CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

Reaching this weakness in WordPress 7.0 4.7.0 – 7.0.2 · 24 branches takes an account at Contributor level or above. Cross-site scripting happens when input from a request is written into a page without being escaped for the context it lands in, so the browser parses attacker-supplied text as markup or script.

Injected script runs with the privileges of whoever views the affected page, which is how these flaws turn into administrator session theft, silent account creation or persistent backdoors in page content. For WordPress 7.0 the fix is 4.7.34: builds 4.7.0 – 7.0.2 · 24 branches are affected, anything from 4.7.34 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to one of the following versions, or a newer patched version: 4.7.34, 4.8.29, 4.9.30, 5.0.26, 5.1.23, 5.2.25, 5.3.22, 5.4.20, 5.5.19, 5.6.18, 5.7.16, 5.8.14, 5.9.14, 6.0.13, 6.1.11, 6.2.10, 6.3.9, 6.4.9, 6.5.9, 6.6.6, 6.7.6, 6.8.7, 6.9.6, 7.0.3

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Contributor access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: updating to 4.7.34 is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/5faaf7d1-2012-42d5-affa-a5ff3388d25a

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