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

CVE-2026-4006

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-19
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 Simple Draft List plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'display_name' post meta (Custom Field) in all versions up to and including 2.6.2. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on the author display name when no author URL is present. The plugin accesses `$draft_data->display_name` which, because `display_name` is not a native WP_Post property, triggers WP_Post::__get() and resolves to `get_post_meta($post_id, 'display_name', true)`. When the `user_url` meta field is empty, the `$author` value is assigned to `$author_link` on line 383 without any escaping (unlike line 378 which uses `esc_html()` for the `{{author}}` tag, and line 381 which uses `esc_html()` when a URL is present). This unescaped value is then inserted into the shortcode output via `str_replace()`. 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 a page containing the `[drafts]` shortcode with the `{{author+link}}` template tag.

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 Simple Draft List WordPress plugin fails to escape the display_name value when generating author links in shortcode output. When the user_url meta field is empty, the display_name retrieved via post meta is inserted directly into HTML without sanitization, allowing stored XSS injection via the {{author+link}} template tag.

MitigationUpdate to version 2.6.3 or later which applies proper escaping to the author display name in the author_link variable; alternatively, add esc_html() escaping to line 383 before assignment to $author_link.

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 Simple Draft List plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Simple Draft List' or check the plugin files for version information in the main PHP file header
    Affected if The plugin is present and version is below 2.6.3
  2. Identify shortcode usage with author template tags
    Search WordPress content (posts, pages, widgets) for shortcode containing {{author+link}} - typically [draft_list] or similar shortcodes that support template parameters
    Affected if Shortcodes using {{author+link}} template tag are present in the site content
  3. Inspect the vulnerable code path
    Locate the plugin PHP file and examine the code around line 383 where $author_link is assigned; verify that display_name is used without esc_html() escaping when user_url meta field is empty
    Affected if Code shows display_name inserted directly into HTML without sanitization when user_url is empty
  4. Check author user_url meta field status
    Query the usermeta table or use a user management tool to check if authors have empty user_url fields; the vulnerability triggers specifically when user_url is not populated
    Affected if Any author account has an empty user_url field and the site uses the vulnerable shortcode template

The environment is affected if Simple Draft List plugin below version 2.6.3 is installed, the {{author+link}} shortcode template is used, and authors have empty user_url fields allowing unsanitized display_name injection.

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 to version 2.6.3 or later which applies proper escaping to the author display name in the author_link variable; alternatively, add esc_html() escaping to line 383 before assignment to $author_link.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest version available on WordPress plugin repository (newer than 2.6.2)

  1. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the 'Simple Draft List' plugin
  4. Check if an update is available and upgrade to the latest version
  5. If no update is visible in WordPress, visit the plugin page at plugins.trac.wordpress.org/plugin/simple-draft-list to download the latest version
  6. Deactivate the old version, delete it, then upload and activate the new version

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-2026-4006 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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