Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-1823 affects the WordPress Consensus Embed plugin through version 1.6. A logged-in user with Contributor or higher privileges can store malicious script in plugin shortcode content. That script may run when someone views the affected page, potentially exposing user data or altering page behavior.
Executive priority
Treat as a medium-priority website security issue. Prioritize public sites with multiple content contributors, customer logins, or sensitive visitor sessions. If only administrators can edit content, urgency is lower, but remediation should still be tracked.
Technical view
The issue is stored cross-site scripting in the Consensus Embed plugin's consensus shortcode. Sources cite insufficient sanitization and output escaping of user-supplied shortcode attributes, specifically the src attribute. CVSS is 6.4, requiring low-privileged authenticated access, network reachability, and causing limited confidentiality and integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running Consensus Embed version 1.6 or earlier, especially where Contributor-level users can create or edit content containing the shortcode.
Exploitation context
No source in the bundle reports active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. Exploitation requires an authenticated Contributor-or-higher account, which reduces broad internet-scale risk but matters on sites with many authors or weak account controls.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports stored XSS via shortcode attribute handling in version 1.6 and earlier. Public references include Wordfence and WordPress plugin Trac lines for the shortcode implementation. The provided sources do not identify a patched version or confirmed exploitation.
Mitigation direction
- Check the vendor or WordPress plugin page for updated guidance or a fixed release.
- Disable Consensus Embed if it is not business-critical.
- Restrict Contributor and higher roles to trusted users only.
- Review pending and published content before allowing shortcode use.
- Consider removing affected shortcode content until remediation is confirmed.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites for Consensus Embed installations.
- Confirm whether installed versions are 1.6 or earlier.
- Identify users with Contributor, Author, Editor, or Administrator roles.
- Review posts and pages containing the consensus shortcode.
- Monitor WordPress security plugin alerts for this CVE.
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-2026-1823 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/a20ef41d-7f01-4ef2-aae0-0b254ea78bc5?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/consensus-embed/tags/1.6/consensus.php#L43CVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/consensus-embed/trunk/consensus.php#L43CVE 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.