CVE-2026-5231

WP Statistics <= 14.16.4 - Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'utm_source' Parameter

2026-04-16 13:20
daroo

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 14.16.5
Affected Plugin
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative
Affected Version
<= 14.16.4
CVSS
7.2High
Weakness type
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE
CVE-2026-5231
View all WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-5231 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the WP Statistics WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 14.16.4. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 14.16.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed April 2026, reported by daroo.

Vulnerability Overview

The WP Statistics plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'utm_source' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 14.16.4. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. The plugin's referral parser copies the raw utm_source value into the source_name field when a wildcard channel domain matches, and the chart renderer later inserts this value into legend markup via innerHTML without escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in admin pages that will execute whenever an administrator accesses the Referrals Overview or Social Media analytics pages.

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, and no interaction from a victim user.

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

WP Statistics <= 14.16.4 carries this weakness at utm_source, and reaching it takes no account at all. 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 WP Statistics the fix is 14.16.5: builds <= 14.16.4 are affected, anything from 14.16.5 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 14.16.5, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

Requests carrying this pattern arrive without a session, so nothing upstream of the firewall gets a chance to reject them: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: WP Statistics 14.16.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-5231https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/9b350b48-05ba-4054-895f-36d7ad71459dhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-5231

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C