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

CVE-2026-2988

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 Blubrry PowerPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'powerpress' and 'podcast' shortcodes in versions up to, and including, 11.15.15 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.

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 Blubrry PowerPress WordPress plugin fails to properly sanitize input and escape output in the 'powerpress' and 'podcast' shortcodes, allowing authenticated users with contributor-level access to inject persistent malicious scripts that execute when other users view affected pages.

MitigationUpdate the PowerPress plugin to a version newer than 11.15.15 which includes proper input sanitization and output escaping, or implement sanitization using functions like esc_attr() and esc_html() on user-supplied shortcode attributes.

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 PowerPress plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Blubrry PowerPress' in the list. Note the installed version number displayed.
    Affected if Plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Determine installed PowerPress version
    Read the version number from the plugin page or check the plugin header in /wp-content/plugins/powerpress/powerpress.php file.
    Affected if Version is 11.15.15 or earlier (versions newer than 11.15.15 contain the fix)
  3. Check for shortcode usage in content
    Search WordPress database or content for '[powerpress]' or '[podcast]' shortcode usage. Can use WP admin search or query posts table for these strings.
    Affected if Shortcodes are present in any published content
  4. Review user role permissions
    In WordPress admin, go to Users > All Users and identify any accounts with Contributor, Author, Editor, or Administrator roles. These roles have permissions that could exploit this vulnerability.
    Affected if Any user account has contributor-level access or higher

A user is affected if PowerPress version 11.15.15 or earlier is installed, the shortcodes are used in content, and there exists at least one user with contributor-level access or higher.

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

Update the PowerPress plugin to a version newer than 11.15.15 which includes proper input sanitization and output escaping, or implement sanitization using functions like esc_attr() and esc_html() on user-supplied shortcode attributes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Blubrry PowerPress version 11.15.16 or latest stable release

  1. 1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard with administrator privileges
  2. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. 3. Locate the Blubrry PowerPress plugin in the list
  4. 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
  5. 5. Alternatively, download the latest version from wordpress.org/plugins/powerpress and upload it via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  6. 6. After updating, verify the plugin is functioning correctly by testing podcast playback

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2026-2988 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
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