Iq Block CountryWordPress extension · Webence
CVE-2021-36873
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 · uneditedAuthenticated Persistent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in WordPress iQ Block Country plugin (versions <= 1.2.11). Vulnerable parameter: &blockcountry_blockmessage.
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 · moderate confidenceAuthenticated Persistent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the WordPress iQ Block Country plugin (versions <= 1.2.11). The blockcountry_blockmessage parameter does not properly sanitize user input, allowing an authenticated attacker to inject malicious JavaScript that persists and executes when other users view the affected admin pages.
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
Iq Block CountryWordPress extension
<= 1.2.11CVSS 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.
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Verify plugin versionIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate 'iQ Block Country'. Check the version number displayed below the plugin name. Alternatively, inspect the plugin header in /wp-content/plugins/iq-block-country/index.php for the 'Version' field.Affected if The installed version is 1.2.11 or earlier.
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Check for the vulnerable settingNavigate to the plugin settings page (usually under Settings > iQ Block Country or similar). Look for a field labeled 'Block Message', 'blockcountry_blockmessage', or a message configuration option that allows custom HTML or JavaScript input.Affected if The blockcountry_blockmessage parameter field exists and accepts unescaped HTML or script content.
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Inspect stored parameter valueQuery the WordPress database: SELECT * FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE '%blockmessage%' or examine the plugin's saved settings via the admin interface to view the current value of the block message.Affected if The stored value contains unescaped HTML script tags or JavaScript event handlers (e.g., <script>, onerror=, onload=).
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Review admin page sourceVisit the plugin admin pages in a browser, view the page source (right-click > View Page Source), and search for the block message content. Check if it appears unescaped between HTML tags or attributes.Affected if The block message renders as raw HTML/JavaScript rather than being HTML-encoded.
If the iQ Block Country plugin version is 1.2.11 or earlier AND the blockcountry_blockmessage parameter is accessible and accepts input that renders unescaped, the environment is vulnerable to this persistent XSS.
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 iQ Block Country plugin to version 1.2.12 or later which contains the security patch. Verify the update does not break existing functionality.
Fix this in Iq Block Country
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation0.5 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA0.5 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-36873 — 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-2021-36873 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
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- 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
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