LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2021-38328: Notices <= 6.1 Reflected Cross-Site Scripting

The Notices WordPress plugin is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting due to a reflected $_SERVER["PHP_SELF"] value in the ~/notices.php file which allows attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts, in versions up to and including 6.1.

MediumCVSS 6.1Not KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-38328 is a reflected cross-site scripting issue in the Notices WordPress plugin through version 6.1. If a user opens a maliciously crafted request, attacker-controlled script may run in that user’s browser. Business impact is mainly account/session risk and content trust, not server takeover based on the supplied evidence.

Executive priority

Treat this as a moderate web application risk. It is not known exploited from the supplied sources, but affected public WordPress sites should be remediated in normal vulnerability cycles, faster for sites with administrator traffic or sensitive authenticated users.

Technical view

The plugin reflected $_SERVER["PHP_SELF"] in notices.php without sufficient output handling, creating CWE-79 reflected XSS. CVSS 3.1 is 6.1: network reachable, low complexity, no privileges, user interaction required, changed scope, low confidentiality impact, low integrity impact, and no availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running the Notices plugin version 6.1 or earlier. Public-facing sites increase likelihood of attacker reach, but exploitation still requires user interaction. The source bundle does not identify other affected products or platforms.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited active exploitation. Practical exploitation would rely on reflected XSS conditions and convincing a user to visit a crafted request. No exploit steps or weaponization details are provided here.

Researcher notes

Key evidence is the reflected PHP_SELF value in notices.php and Wordfence’s advisory. The bundle does not name a fixed version, patch commit, exploit availability, or active exploitation. Avoid expanding scope beyond Notices plugin versions up to and including 6.1.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory WordPress sites for the Notices plugin and installed version.
  • Prioritize sites running Notices version 6.1 or earlier.
  • Check Wordfence and WordPress plugin guidance for a fixed release or maintainer recommendation.
  • Disable or remove the plugin where business use is not required.
  • Apply standard WordPress hardening and least-privilege administrator practices.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm plugin presence and version through approved asset inventory or WordPress administration.
  • Review whether notices.php matches the vulnerable code reference in WordPress Trac.
  • Check change records for any plugin update, removal, or compensating control.
  • Review web telemetry for unusual requests targeting the plugin path.
  • Document validation results without testing live XSS payloads on production systems.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
4

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

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · medium confidence lookup

CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup

Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-38328 mapping review

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

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
6.1 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A: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
3Source 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
6.1CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N2.82.7Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

6.1Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-38328Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A: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
NoticesNotices6.1Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-79

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