dbcve.org
Cross-site Scripting (XSS)Weakness · CWE-79

CVE-2026-1838

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
The Hostel plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via the 'shortcode_id' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.1.6 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that execute if they can successfully trick a user into performing an action such as clicking on a link.

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 Hostel WordPress plugin (versions up to 1.1.6) contains a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability in the 'shortcode_id' parameter. Due to insufficient input sanitization and lack of output escaping, unauthenticated attackers can inject arbitrary JavaScript code that executes in victim browsers when they interact with specially crafted links.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of the Hostel plugin when available, or implement input validation and output escaping for the 'shortcode_id' parameter in the plugin code.

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

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. Verify Hostel plugin installation
    Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Hostel' in the plugin list. Note whether it is installed and activated.
    Affected if The Hostel plugin is present and active in the WordPress environment.
  2. Determine installed Hostel plugin version
    In the plugin list, click on the Hostel plugin to view its details, or check the plugin header in the main plugin file (typically in /wp-content/plugins/hostel/). Look for the version number in the plugin metadata.
    Affected if The installed version is 1.1.6 or any earlier version.
  3. Identify usage of shortcode functionality
    Search WordPress post content, page content, or widget areas for the Hostel shortcode. Common shortcode patterns may include [hostel], [hostel_booking], or similar. Check if shortcodes are in active use on the site.
    Affected if The Hostel shortcode is actively used on the site, allowing the shortcode_id parameter to be passed via URL or shortcode attributes.
  4. Inspect shortcode_id parameter handling
    Locate the main Hostel plugin PHP files (particularly those handling shortcode rendering) and examine how the shortcode_id parameter is processed. Look for the presence or absence of input sanitization functions like sanitize_text_field, esc_attr, or similar, and output escaping functions like esc_html or esc_attr when the parameter is displayed.
    Affected if The plugin code does not sanitize the shortcode_id input and does not escape output when rendering this parameter.

A user is affected if the Hostel plugin is installed at version 1.1.6 or earlier and the shortcode functionality with the shortcode_id parameter is accessible on the site.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of the Hostel plugin when available, or implement input validation and output escaping for the 'shortcode_id' parameter in the plugin code.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

1.1.7 or latest available version

  1. Identify the currently installed version of the Hostel WordPress plugin
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins in the WordPress admin dashboard
  3. Locate the Hostel plugin and check its current version
  4. If the installed version is 1.1.6 or below, update to the latest available version of the Hostel plugin
  5. Verify the update was successful and test that the 'shortcode_id' parameter is now properly sanitized

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2026-1838 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