Website BuilderWordPress extension · Elementor
CVE-2020-15020
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in the Elementor plugin through 2.9.13 for WordPress. An authenticated attacker can achieve stored XSS via the Name Your Template field.
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 confidenceThis is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Elementor WordPress page builder plugin affecting versions through 2.9.13. An authenticated attacker with template editing privileges can inject malicious JavaScript code through the 'Name Your Template' field, which is then stored and executed when other users access the template.
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
Website BuilderWordPress extension
<= 2.9.13CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check the installed Elementor versionNavigate to WordPress admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins, locate Elementor Website Builder, and note the version number displayed. Alternatively, check the main plugin file (elementor.php) for the 'Version' constant.Affected if The installed version is 2.9.13 or any earlier version (2.9.x <= 2.9.13)
-
Identify users with template editing privilegesGo to WordPress admin > Users and review user roles. Elementor template editing requires the 'elementor_library' capability. Check if any user role (Editor, Author, Contributor, or custom roles) has permission to create or edit Elementor templates via the role manager or user profile settings.Affected if Any authenticated user account has template creation or editing permissions enabled
-
Inspect Elementor template names for malicious contentQuery the WordPress database: SELECT ID, post_title, post_type FROM wp_posts WHERE post_type = 'elementor_library' AND post_status = 'publish'; Examine the post_title values for script tags, event handlers (onclick, onerror, etc.), or javascript: URIs.Affected if Any template name contains suspicious characters such as <script>, <img onerror=, or javascript: protocols
A user is affected if their Elementor version is 2.9.13 or lower AND template editing capabilities are available to authenticated users, regardless of whether malicious templates have been created yet.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpdate the Elementor plugin to version 2.9.14 or later to patch the XSS vulnerability. Additionally, ensure users have appropriate role-based access controls to limit who can create and edit templates.
Fix this in Website Builder
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,512.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15020 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-15020 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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.
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.
- 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