Cross-site Scripting (XSS)Weakness · CWE-79

CVE-2026-13040

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-03

Mitigation only

No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.

See remediation →

81/100

Remediation priority · High

Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click 7 weeks old

Official description

NVD · unedited

The NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'real_val__' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 9.2.2 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. The submission endpoint is registered via wp_ajax_nopriv_submit_nex_form with no nonce verification, making it fully accessible to unauthenticated attackers without any CSRF token.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The NEX-Forms WordPress plugin fails to sanitize the 'real_val__' parameter during form submission and does not escape this value when outputting it, allowing stored XSS. The vulnerable AJAX endpoint (wp_ajax_nopriv_submit_nex_form) accepts unauthenticated submissions without nonce verification, enabling fully remote exploitation without any user interaction beyond accessing an injected page.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to a version beyond 9.2.2 once available. Until then, implement input sanitization using functions like sanitize_text_field() on the real_val__ parameter and ensure output escaping with esc_html() or esc_attr() when displaying submitted values. Add nonce verification to the AJAX handler.

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

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Privileges: None
User interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

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

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

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

Confirm NEX-Forms plugin is installed

In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for NEX-Forms in the list

Affected if The NEX-Forms plugin is present in the WordPress installation
Identify the installed version

In the plugins list, locate the NEX-Forms entry and note the version number displayed under the plugin name

Affected if The installed version is 9.2.2 or lower (the vulnerability exists in versions up to 9.2.2)
Verify the vulnerable AJAX endpoint is accessible

Check if the AJAX action wp_ajax_nopriv_submit_nex_form is registered by reviewing the plugin PHP files for add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_submit_nex_form') or add_action('wp_ajax_submit_nex_form')

Affected if The plugin registers the submit_nex_form AJAX handler without nonce verification checks
Confirm the real_val__ parameter is processed

Examine the plugin source code handling form submissions to see if the real_val__ POST/GET parameter is used without sanitization via sanitize_text_field() or similar functions

Affected if The code processes real_val__ without applying sanitization functions like sanitize_text_field()

If NEX-Forms plugin is installed and the version is 9.2.2 or lower, and the plugin processes the real_val__ parameter without sanitization and the AJAX endpoint lacks nonce verification, the environment is affected by this stored XSS vulnerability.

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

Remediation

From vendor data

Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime

Mitigation

Update the plugin to a version beyond 9.2.2 once available. Until then, implement input sanitization using functions like sanitize_text_field() on the real_val__ parameter and ensure output escaping with esc_html() or esc_attr() when displaying submitted values. Add nonce verification to the AJAX handler.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation2.0 h
Implementation3.0 h
Testing2.0 h
Review / QA1.0 h

8.0 hours of engineering $1,420

Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-13040 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-13040 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2026-13040?

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.

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

At a glance

A fix existsA vendor remedy is published

Severity 7.2 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.3%

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Have this fixed 8 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $1,420

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2026-13040 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

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

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References