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

CVE-2026-3618

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 Columns by BestWebSoft plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'id' shortcode attribute of the [print_clmns] shortcode in all versions up to and including 1.0.3. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on the 'id' attribute. The shortcode receives the 'id' parameter via shortcode_atts() at line 596 and directly embeds it into HTML output at line 731 (in a div id attribute) and into inline CSS at lines 672-729 without any escaping or sanitization. While the SQL query uses %d to cast the value to an integer for database lookup, the original unsanitized string value of $id is still used in the HTML/CSS output. 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. The attack requires that at least one column exists in the plugin (created by an admin), as the SQL query must return results for the output branch to be reached.

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 Columns by BestWebSoft WordPress plugin up to v1.0.3 has a Stored XSS vulnerability in the [print_clmns] shortcode. The 'id' attribute is passed through shortcode_atts() but not sanitized before being output into a div's id attribute (line 731) and inline CSS (lines 672-729). Although the SQL query uses %d to cast to integer for database lookups, the original unsanitized string value is still used in HTML/CSS output, allowing authenticated attackers with Contributor-level access to inject arbitrary JavaScript.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to the latest version which should include proper output escaping (esc_attr() for HTML attributes, maybe esc_css for inline CSS). If no update is available, implement manual escaping on the $id parameter before HTML/CSS output.

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. Confirm Columns plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Columns' in the list. Note whether it is active or inactive.
    Affected if The Columns plugin is installed and active.
  2. Check installed plugin version
    Click on the Columns plugin in the Plugins list to view its details, or check the plugin's main PHP file header for the Version: X.X.X field.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than the patched version that addresses this vulnerability.
  3. Identify use of the [print_clmns] shortcode
    Search your WordPress database (wp_posts table) for content containing the string '[print_clmns]' using a tool like phpMyAdmin or WP-CLI: wp db query "SELECT * FROM wp_posts WHERE post_content LIKE '%[print_clmns]%'"
    Affected if The shortcode is present in any post, page, or custom post type content.
  4. Examine shortcode id attribute usage
    If the shortcode is found, inspect the id attribute value used (e.g., [print_clmns id="value"]). Check the plugin source file around lines 672-731 to see if this id value is sanitized before being output in HTML div id or inline CSS.
    Affected if The id attribute is used without proper sanitization (sanitize_html_class or similar) in the output code.
  5. Verify contributor-level access exists
    In WordPress admin, go to Users > All Users and review the role column. Contributor role can create/edit content and is sufficient to exploit this flaw.
    Affected if Any user account has Contributor role or higher, particularly if they are untrusted or external.

A user is affected if the Columns plugin is active with a vulnerable version, the [print_clmns] shortcode is in use with an id attribute, and the id attribute is not sanitized before HTML/CSS output.

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

Update the plugin to the latest version which should include proper output escaping (esc_attr() for HTML attributes, maybe esc_css for inline CSS). If no update is available, implement manual escaping on the $id parameter before HTML/CSS output.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2026-3618 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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