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

CVE-2026-3178

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-11
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

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 Name Directory plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'name_directory_name' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.32.1 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 vulnerability was partially patched in versions 1.30.3 and 1.32.1.

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 Name Directory WordPress plugin fails to properly sanitize and escape the 'name_directory_name' parameter, allowing unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript. This stored XSS executes whenever users access affected pages, potentially enabling session hijacking or credential theft.

MitigationUpdate the Name Directory plugin to version 1.32.1 or later. If unable to update, implement Web Application Firewall rules to block XSS payloads in the affected parameter.

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
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? 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 Name Directory plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Name Directory' in the list. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if The plugin is installed and the version is below 1.32.1 (or version cannot be determined)
  2. Check the plugin version directly
    If you have file system access, inspect the plugin main file (usually in wp-content/plugins/name-directory/name-directory.php) and look for the 'Version' header comment in the file header.
    Affected if The version retrieved is below 1.32.1 or the version field is missing/unreadable
  3. Inspect stored data in the database
    Query the WordPress database table (typically wp_options or a custom name_directory table) for entries containing the 'name_directory_name' parameter. Look for any records containing HTML tags, script tags, or JavaScript event handlers (onload, onerror, etc.).
    Affected if Any records in the name_directory storage contain raw HTML or JavaScript syntax without proper encoding
  4. Examine frontend page output
    View the public page where Name Directory is displayed (via shortcode or widget). View the page source and search for the rendered name_directory_name values. Test by entering a benign string like '<test>' and see if it renders as literal text or as HTML.
    Affected if The name_directory_name values render as HTML tags rather than being displayed as plain text (indicating lack of escaping)
  5. Check for unauthorized admin accounts
    In WordPress admin, go to Users and look for any unexpected administrator accounts that may have been created via XSS-powered privilege escalation.
    Affected if New or unknown administrator accounts exist that were not created by legitimate administrators

You are affected if the Name Directory plugin version is below 1.32.1 AND the name_directory_name field data renders unescaped HTML/JavaScript on frontend pages.

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 Name Directory plugin to version 1.32.1 or later. If unable to update, implement Web Application Firewall rules to block XSS payloads in the affected parameter.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest version of Name Directory plugin (version higher than 1.32.1)

  1. 1. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard and go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  2. 2. Locate the Name Directory plugin
  3. 3. Check the current installed version of the plugin
  4. 4. Navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin or check the WordPress plugin repository for the latest version
  5. 5. Update the Name Directory plugin to the latest available version beyond 1.32.1

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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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-2026-3178 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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