ShortPixel Image Optimizer <= 6.4.3 - Authenticated (Author+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Attachment Title
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 6.4.4
- Affected Version
<= 6.4.3- CVSS
- 5.4Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
- CVE
CVE-2026-4335
At a glance
CVE-2026-4335 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the ShortPixel Image Optimizer WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 6.4.3. It carries a CVSS score of 5.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Author level or above. The issue is fixed in version 6.4.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2026, reported by daroo.
Vulnerability Overview
The ShortPixel Image Optimizer plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the attachment post_title in all versions up to, and including, 6.4.3. This is due to insufficient output escaping in the getEditorPopup() function and its corresponding media-popup.php template. Specifically, the attachment's post_title is retrieved from the database via get_post() in AjaxController.php (line 435) and passed directly to the view template (line 449), where it is rendered into an HTML input element's value attribute without esc_attr() escaping (media-popup.php line 139). Since WordPress allows Authors to set arbitrary attachment titles (including double-quote characters) via the REST API, a malicious author can craft an attachment title that breaks out of the HTML attribute and injects arbitrary JavaScript event handlers. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Author-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts that execute whenever a higher-privileged user (such as an administrator) opens the ShortPixel AI editor popup (Background Removal or Image Upscale) for the poisoned attachment.
Technical Analysis
The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed.
CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
ShortPixel Image Optimizer <= 6.4.3 carries this weakness at getEditorPopup(), and reaching it takes an account at Author 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 ShortPixel Image Optimizer the fix is 6.4.4: builds <= 6.4.3 are affected, anything from 6.4.4 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 6.4.4, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Author 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: ShortPixel Image Optimizer 6.4.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Same weakness class
Other vulnerabilities in ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF
- 7.5CVE-2026-39471: ShortPixel Image Optimizer PHP Object Injection
CVE-2026-39471 - 6.6ShortPixel Image Optimizer <= 5.4.1 PHP Object Injection
- 5.4CVE-2025-11378: ShortPixel Image Optimizer Settings Import/Export
CVE-2025-11378 - 4.9CVE-2026-1246: ShortPixel Image Optimizer <= 6.4.2 Arbitrary File Read
CVE-2026-1246 - 4.9CVE-2024-48043: ShortPixel Image Optimizer <= 5.6.3 SQL Injection
CVE-2024-48043 - 4.3CVE-2024-48044: ShortPixel Image Optimizer Missing Authorization
CVE-2024-48044
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