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CVE Record

CVE-2020-28650: The WPBakery plugin before 6.4.1 for WordPress allows XSS because it calls kses_remove_filters to disable t...

The WPBakery plugin before 6.4.1 for WordPress allows XSS because it calls kses_remove_filters to disable the standard WordPress XSS protection mechanism for the Author and Contributor roles.

MediumCVSS 6.4Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2020-28650 is a cross-site scripting issue in WPBakery for WordPress before 6.4.1. Sites that let Author or Contributor users create content were exposed because the plugin disabled standard WordPress XSS protections for those roles. Business risk is account/session compromise or content tampering through malicious page content.

Executive priority

Prioritize patching on public WordPress sites with delegated content roles. This is not rated critical, but it affects a common website plugin and can turn low-privilege content access into browser-side compromise and brand-impacting page manipulation.

Technical view

WPBakery before 6.4.1 calls kses_remove_filters, disabling WordPress KSES XSS filtering for Author and Contributor roles. The CVSS 3.1 vector is network exploitable with low privileges, no user interaction, changed scope, and low confidentiality and integrity impact. The source bundle provides no CPEs or CWE mapping.

Likely exposure

WordPress sites running WPBakery plugin versions before 6.4.1, especially where Author or Contributor accounts are enabled or delegated to staff, contractors, customers, or compromised users. The public CVE record does not provide structured affected CPE data.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. Wordfence publicly reported the vulnerability in October 2020 and the CVE was published on November 16, 2020. Treat exploit status as unconfirmed from the provided sources.

Researcher notes

Key evidence is the CVE description and Wordfence reference. The vulnerability is role-gated, not unauthenticated, and depends on WPBakery versions before 6.4.1. Do not claim active exploitation from this bundle; KEV is false and no source here confirms in-the-wild use.

Mitigation direction

  • Update WPBakery to version 6.4.1 or later.
  • Check vendor guidance for any additional remediation steps.
  • Restrict Author and Contributor access until patched.
  • Review least-privilege controls for WordPress content roles.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory WordPress sites using WPBakery.
  • Confirm installed WPBakery version is 6.4.1 or later.
  • Identify active Author and Contributor accounts.
  • Review recent content from those roles for unexpected embedded code.
  • Confirm no public route still serves vulnerable plugin assets.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
3

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2020-28650 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
6.4 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:N/A:N/C:L/I:L/PR:L/S:C/UI:N

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
6.4CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:N/A:N/C:L/I:L/PR:L/S:C/UI:N3.12.7Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

6.4Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2020-28650Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:N/A:N/C:L/I:L/PR:L/S:C/UI:N

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.