Optimole <= 4.2.3 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via Page Profiler URL
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 4.2.4
- Affected Plugin
- Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization
- Affected Version
<= 4.2.3- CVSS
- 6.1Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
- CVE
CVE-2026-5226
At a glance
CVE-2026-5226 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the Optimole WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 4.2.3. It carries a CVSS score of 6.1 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 4.2.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed April 2026, reported by Ali Cem Havare.
Vulnerability Overview
The Optimole – Optimize Images in Real Time plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via URL paths in versions up to, and including, 4.2.3 This is due to insufficient output escaping on user-supplied URL paths in the get_current_url() function, which are inserted into JavaScript code via str_replace() without proper JavaScript context escaping in the replace_content() function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that execute if they can successfully trick a user into performing an action such as clicking on a link.
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 privileges on the target site.
CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Optimole <= 4.2.3 carries this weakness at get_current_url(), and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. 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 Optimole the fix is 4.2.4: builds <= 4.2.3 are affected, anything from 4.2.4 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 4.2.4, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Optimole: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Optimole 4.2.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Same weakness class
Other vulnerabilities in Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization
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