Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-0867 affects the Essential Widgets WordPress plugin. Logged-in users with Contributor-level access or higher can store malicious scripts through several plugin shortcodes. Those scripts may run when other users view the affected page. This is most urgent for sites allowing many authors or external contributors.
Executive priority
Treat as a near-term web security fix, not an emergency, unless the site permits untrusted contributors. Prioritize public-facing WordPress sites, high-traffic sites, and environments with many content authors.
Technical view
The issue is stored cross-site scripting in Essential Widgets shortcodes ew-author, ew-archive, ew-category, ew-page, and ew-menu. Versions up to and including 3.0 are listed as affected, with a note that 3.0 only partially fixed it. Root cause is insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. CVSS 3.1 score is 6.4, CWE-79.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running Essential Widgets versions up to 3.0, especially where Contributor, Author, Editor, or Administrator accounts are broadly assigned or not tightly controlled.
Exploitation context
The attacker needs authenticated Contributor-level access or higher. Public sources provided do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Impact is browser-side script execution when a crafted page is viewed, which can affect session trust and site integrity.
Researcher notes
Evidence comes from the CVE record, Wordfence advisory, and WordPress plugin Trac changesets. The source bundle states version 3.0 was only a partial fix, but does not name a fully fixed version. Avoid assuming remediation beyond current vendor guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the Essential Widgets plugin and installed version.
- Prioritize sites running Essential Widgets 3.0 or earlier.
- Check vendor and WordPress plugin guidance for the fully fixed release.
- Update the plugin after testing compatibility in staging.
- Restrict Contributor and higher roles to trusted users only.
- Review existing content using the affected shortcodes for suspicious attributes or scripts.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Essential Widgets is installed on each WordPress site.
- Record plugin version and flag versions up to 3.0.
- Review user accounts with Contributor-level access or higher.
- Search site content for ew-author, ew-archive, ew-category, ew-page, and ew-menu usage.
- After remediation, verify the plugin version and recheck affected shortcode rendering.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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-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 lookupCVE-2026-0867 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N3.12.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/08d4ed49-1338-422f-b55f-a102f2d1d6c8?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3440541/essential-widgetsCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3447282/essential-widgetsCVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.