dbcve.org
Yoast SeoWordPress extension · Yoast

CVE-2019-13478

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-07-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.6 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Yoast SEO plugin before 11.6-RC5 for WordPress does not properly restrict unfiltered HTML in term descriptions.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress versions before 11.6-RC5 fails to properly sanitize or restrict unfiltered HTML in term descriptions, allowing authenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript that executes when administrators view these terms (stored XSS).

MitigationUpgrade the Yoast SEO plugin to version 11.6-RC5 or later to apply the patch that properly restricts unfiltered HTML in term descriptions.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Yoast SeoWordPress extension
Affected:< 11.6= 11.6

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check the installed Yoast SEO plugin version
    Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins in the WordPress admin dashboard, locate the Yoast SEO entry, and note the version number displayed. Alternatively, check the plugin header in the main plugin file (wp-content/plugins/wordpress-seo/wp-seo-main.php or similar)
    Affected if The version is below 11.6 or exactly 11.6 (the installed version falls within the vulnerable range)
  2. Verify if the user has unfiltered_html capability for term editing
    In WordPress admin, go to Users > Profile and check if the unfiltered_html capability is enabled for your account. For multisite, check Network Admin > Settings > Network Settings for the 'unfiltered_html' setting
    Affected if The current user account or site configuration allows unfiltered HTML input when creating or editing taxonomy terms
  3. Inspect taxonomy term descriptions for unsanitized content
    Navigate to Posts > Categories (or any custom taxonomy), view the term description fields. Check the HTML source of term descriptions by using browser developer tools or database query: SELECT term_id, name, description FROM wp_terms JOIN wp_term_taxonomy ON wp_terms.term_id = wp_term_taxonomy.term_id WHERE description LIKE '%<script%' OR description LIKE '%onload=%'
    Affected if Term descriptions contain raw HTML tags, script elements, or event handler attributes (like onload, onerror, onclick) that were not stripped or encoded
  4. Check if term meta contains suspicious content
    Query the wp_termmeta table (or custom term meta table) for any meta_key values containing raw HTML or JavaScript: SELECT * FROM wp_termmeta WHERE meta_value LIKE '%<%'
    Affected if Term meta records contain unescaped HTML markup or JavaScript code patterns
  5. Review user role permissions for taxonomy terms
    Go to Users > User Role Editor or use a role management plugin to verify which roles can edit taxonomy terms and whether those roles have the unfiltered_html capability
    Affected if Authenticated users with contributor, author, or editor roles can edit term descriptions and possess unfiltered_html capability

Your environment is affected if the Yoast SEO plugin version is below 11.6 or exactly 11.6, and term descriptions or term meta contain unstripped HTML or script elements that could execute JavaScript when viewed by administrators.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 11.6 or later
Fixed in 11.6
Interim mitigation

Upgrade the Yoast SEO plugin to version 11.6-RC5 or later to apply the patch that properly restricts unfiltered HTML in term descriptions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Yoast SEO 11.6.1 or later (minimum 11.6-RC5)

  1. 1. Back up your WordPress database and files.
  2. 2. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
  3. 3. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
  4. 4. Find the Yoast SEO plugin in the list.
  5. 5. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to update to the latest version (11.6.1 or later).
  6. 6. Alternatively, go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin to manually upload the latest version of Yoast SEO (11.6.1 or later).
  7. 7. After updating, verify the plugin version shows 11.6.1 or higher.
  8. 8. Test that term descriptions with HTML are properly sanitized in your taxonomy pages.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Yoast Seo Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-13478 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data