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WordPressCMS

CVE-2019-16219

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-09-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.2.3 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
WordPress before 5.2.3 allows XSS in shortcode previews.

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

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in WordPress shortcode previews affecting versions prior to 5.2.3. An attacker could inject malicious scripts through shortcode preview functionality that would execute in the context of a victim's browser session.

MitigationUpgrade WordPress to version 5.2.3 or later to patch the shortcode preview XSS vulnerability. Maintain regular WordPress core updates to address future security issues.

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
WordPressCMS
Affected:< 5.2.3
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 9.0= 10.0

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

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

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. Locate WordPress installation directory
    Look for wp-includes/version.php or wp-config.php in the web root. Common paths include /var/www/html/, /home/*/public_html/, or the document root of your web server.
    Affected if WordPress is installed in the environment.
  2. Determine installed WordPress version
    Open wp-includes/version.php and find the $wp_version variable. Alternatively, view the source of any WordPress page and look for the meta name='generator' tag, or check the readme.html file if present.
    Affected if A WordPress version number is returned that is less than 5.2.3.
  3. Verify shortcode functionality is accessible
    Confirm WordPress is running and the shortcode API is available. This is a core WordPress feature enabled by default when WordPress is installed. No special configuration required.
    Affected if WordPress is operational and shortcodes can be created and rendered.
  4. Check Debian package version if using OS package
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep wordpress' or 'apt show wordpress' on Debian systems to get the packaged WordPress version.
    Affected if The Debian package version is earlier than 5.2.3-1 or equivalent.

You are affected if WordPress is installed with a version earlier than 5.2.3 and the shortcode preview functionality is accessible, which is the default state in WordPress.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.2.3 or later
Fixed in 5.2.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade WordPress to version 5.2.3 or later to patch the shortcode preview XSS vulnerability. Maintain regular WordPress core updates to address future security issues.

Fix this in WordPress Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-16219 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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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-2019-16219 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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