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

CVE-2026-40734

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Zahlan Categories Images categories-images allows DOM-Based XSS.This issue affects Categories Images: from n/a through <= 3.3.1.

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 · moderate confidence

DOM-Based XSS vulnerability in the Zahlan Categories Images WordPress plugin allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript through unsanitized input that gets rendered in the browser's DOM. The plugin fails to properly neutralize input during web page generation, enabling script execution when users interact with crafted category image data.

MitigationUpdate to a patched version of the Categories Images plugin once available, and implement proper output encoding and input validation for all user-supplied data rendered in the DOM.

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L

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. Identify if the Categories Images plugin is installed
    Check the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for a folder named 'categories-images', 'zahlan-categories-images', or similar. In the WordPress admin, navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Categories Images' or 'Zahlan Categories Images'.
    Affected if The plugin folder exists in wp-content/plugins/ or the plugin appears in the WordPress admin plugins list.
  2. Determine the installed plugin version
    In the WordPress admin, click on the plugin from the Installed Plugins list and view the version in the plugin details. Alternatively, open the main plugin PHP file (e.g., categories-images.php) and look for the 'Version' header in the plugin comment block.
    Affected if The version displayed is the affected version that has not yet been patched.
  3. Verify the plugin is active
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and confirm the Categories Images plugin shows as 'Active' rather than 'Inactive'.
    Affected if The plugin is activated and serving pages that render category image data.
  4. Inspect the plugin output for unsanitized DOM rendering
    View the source HTML of a page that displays category images (typically category archive pages or a shortcode output). Look for the img tags or div elements that render category images - check if the src, alt, title, or other attributes contain raw user-supplied data without proper encoding (e.g., look for unescaped quotes or <script> tags in attribute values).
    Affected if Category image data appears in the HTML source without proper HTML entity encoding, allowing raw characters to be rendered directly in the DOM.
  5. Test for reflected user input in category image fields
    Add or edit a category in WordPress admin (Products > Categories or Posts > Categories), add a category image, and insert a test payload like '<img src=x onerror=alert(1)>' into any available text field. Then view the category on the frontend and inspect if the payload executes or appears literally in the HTML source.
    Affected if The payload renders as executed JavaScript or appears unescaped in the page source, indicating the plugin does not sanitize output before DOM rendering.

You are affected if the Categories Images plugin is installed, active, and renders category image data in the DOM without proper output encoding, allowing injected script content to execute.

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 to a patched version of the Categories Images plugin once available, and implement proper output encoding and input validation for all user-supplied data rendered in the DOM.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 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-2026-40734 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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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