Widget Options <= 4.2.2 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Remote Code Execution via Display Logic
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 5.3.3
- Affected Plugin
- Widget Options - Extended
- Affected Version
<= 5.3.2- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-94 · Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2026-2052
At a glance
CVE-2026-2052 is a high-severity Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') vulnerability in the Widget Options - Extended WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.3.2. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Contributor level or above. The issue is fixed in version 5.3.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2026, reported by stealthcopter.
Vulnerability Overview
The Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, 4.2.2 via the Display Logic feature. This is due to the plugin using eval() on user-supplied Display Logic expressions with an insufficient blocklist/allowlist that can be bypassed using array_map with string concatenation, combined with a lack of authorization enforcement on the extended_widget_opts_block attribute. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to execute code on the server. The vulnerability was partially patched in version 4.2.0.
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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Widget Options - Extended <= 5.3.2 carries this weakness at eval(), and reaching it takes an account at Contributor level or above. Code injection means input from a request reaches a language construct that evaluates code, so the attacker's text is executed rather than treated as data.
The injected code runs with the web server's privileges, giving the attacker the same access to the database and filesystem as WordPress itself. For Widget Options - Extended the fix is 5.3.3: builds <= 5.3.2 are affected, anything from 5.3.3 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 5.3.3, or a newer patched version
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. Classes like this one can leave something behind, so the staged malware scanner is the second half: it looks for dropped files and modified code rather than for the request that created them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Widget Options - Extended 5.3.3 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Widget Options - Extended
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