Allow HTML in Category Descriptions <= 1.2.4 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Category Descriptions
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.2.5
- Affected Plugin
- Allow HTML in Category Descriptions
- Affected Version
<= 1.2.4- CVSS
- 4.4Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
- CVE
CVE-2026-0693
At a glance
CVE-2026-0693 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the Allow HTML in Category Descriptions WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.2.4. It carries a CVSS score of 4.4 (reachable over the network). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Administrator level or above. The issue is fixed in version 1.2.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed February 2026, reported by ZAST.AI.
Vulnerability Overview
The Allow HTML in Category Descriptions plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via category descriptions in all versions up to, and including, 1.2.4. This is due to the plugin unconditionally removing the `wp_kses_data` output filter for term_description, link_description, link_notes, and user_description fields without checking user capabilities. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrator-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in category descriptions that will execute whenever a user accesses a page where the category description is displayed. This only affects multi-site installations and installations where unfiltered_html has been disabled.
Technical Analysis
The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, and no interaction from a victim user.
CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Reaching this weakness in Allow HTML in Category Descriptions <= 1.2.4 takes an account at Administrator 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 Allow HTML in Category Descriptions the fix is 1.2.5: builds <= 1.2.4 are affected, anything from 1.2.5 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.2.5, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Administrator 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: Allow HTML in Category Descriptions 1.2.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C