CVE-2019-16780 — WordPress users with lower privileges (like contributors) can inject JavaScript

WordPress users with lower privileges (like contributors) can inject JavaScript code in the block editor using a specific payload, which is executed within the dashboard. This can lead to XSS if an admin opens the post in the editor. Execution of this attack does require an authe

01What is this vulnerability?

WordPress users with lower privileges (like contributors) can inject JavaScript code in the block editor using a specific payload, which is executed within the dashboard. This can lead to XSS if an admin opens the post in the editor. Execution of this attack does require an authenticated user. This has been patched in WordPress 5.3.1, along with all the previous WordPress versions from 3.7 to 5.3…

02Affected products

Vendor	Product	Versions
WordPress	WordPress	< 5.3.1

03Active exploitation status

Not currently listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. EPSS is the best forward-looking signal — see the EPSS row above.

04Recommended remediation

• Patch to a fixed version listed in the vendor advisory (see references below).
• Mitigate with WAF rules, network egress filters, or feature flags where the patch is not yet available.
• Hunt historical logs for exploitation indicators — see Detection signatures below.

05Technical details

For the full vendor write-up, exploit chains, and reference implementations, see the references list in section 09.

06Detection signatures

Ask SARA in chat to draft a starting detection for this CVE in your stack of choice.

07Related CVEs

No directly-cited follow-up CVEs in the KB record for this advisory. The references list in section 09 carries the vendor cross-references.

08Timeline

• Published: 2019-12-26T16:50:13.000Z
• Last modified: 2024-08-05T01:24:47.245Z

09References

• wpvulndb.com — https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9976
• github.com — https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/security/advisories/GHSA-x3wp-h3q…
• wordpress.org — https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/wordpress-5-3-1-security-and-maintenance-rele…
• github.com — https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/commit/505dd6a20b6fc3d06130018c1c…
• hackerone.com — https://hackerone.com/reports/738644
• seclists.org — https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2020/Jan/8
• www.debian.org — https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4599
• www.debian.org — https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4677