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

CVE-2026-3554

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-21
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 Sherk Custom Post Type Displays plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'title' shortcode attribute in all versions up to, and including, 1.2.1. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on the 'title' attribute of the 'sherkcptdisplays' shortcode. Specifically, in the sherkcptdisplays_func() function in includes/SherkCPTDisplaysShortcode.php, the 'title' attribute value is extracted from shortcode_atts() on line 19 and directly concatenated into an HTML <h2> tag on line 31 without any 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 Sherk Custom Post Type Displays WordPress plugin fails to sanitize or escape the 'title' attribute in its sherkcptdisplays shortcode. The title value extracted on line 19 from shortcode_atts() is directly output into an HTML <h2> tag on line 31 without any escaping (e.g., esc_html()), allowing stored XSS injection.

MitigationApply output escaping using esc_html() or esc_attr() to the title attribute before rendering in the HTML <h2> tag. Until a patched version is released, restrict shortcode usage to trusted administrators only.

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. Locate the plugin installation
    Check the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for a folder named 'sherk-custom-post-type-displays' or similar. In a file manager or via command line: ls /path/to/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/ | grep -i sherk
    Affected if The plugin folder exists in the WordPress plugins directory
  2. Find the vulnerable shortcode handler
    Locate the main plugin PHP file and look for the sherkcptdisplays shortcode definition. Search for 'add_shortcode' and 'sherkcptdisplays' within the plugin files
    Affected if A shortcode handler for 'sherkcptdisplays' is registered in the plugin
  3. Inspect the title attribute handling
    Open the PHP file containing the shortcode handler. On line 19, verify how the title attribute is extracted using shortcode_atts(). On line 31, check if the title is output directly into an <h2> tag without esc_html() or esc_attr() wrapping
    Affected if The title attribute value is extracted on line 19 and output into an <h2> tag on line 31 without using esc_html() or esc_attr() for escaping
  4. Search for shortcode usage in content
    In WordPress admin, search posts/pages for [sherkcptdisplays] shortcode usage, or query the wp_posts table: SELECT * FROM wp_posts WHERE post_content LIKE '%[sherkcptdisplays%'
    Affected if The shortcode with a title attribute is actively used in any published post or page content

A user is affected if the Sherk Custom Post Type Displays plugin is installed and the sherkcptdisplays shortcode is used with a title attribute that could contain unescaped user-supplied content.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply output escaping using esc_html() or esc_attr() to the title attribute before rendering in the HTML <h2> tag. Until a patched version is released, restrict shortcode usage to trusted administrators only.

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-2026-3554 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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