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

CVE-2026-53742

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
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
Simple Link Directory through 9.0.4 echoes embed shortcode attributes into HTML data attributes without escaping in the embedder template. Attackers with contributor access can craft a shortcode attribute that injects an event handler executing in a viewer's browser.

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

Simple Link Directory plugin versions up to 9.0.4 suffer from a stored XSS vulnerability in the embed shortcode functionality. The plugin echoes shortcode attributes into HTML data attributes without proper sanitization/escaping, allowing contributor-level attackers to inject malicious JavaScript event handlers that execute when viewers access the page.

MitigationUpdate Simple Link Directory to version 9.0.5 or later which patches the escaping vulnerability; alternatively, restrict shortcode creation permissions until the patch can be applied.

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
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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 Simple Link Directory plugin installation and version
    Access WordPress admin > Plugins and locate Simple Link Directory; note the installed version number. Alternatively, check the plugin main file (e.g., simple-link-directory.php) for the 'Version' header.
    Affected if The installed version is 9.0.4 or lower.
  2. Identify use of embed shortcode functionality
    Search your WordPress posts, pages, and custom post types for the shortcode pattern [sld_embed] or other embed-related shortcodes the plugin provides.
    Affected if The embed shortcode is present in any published content and the plugin version is vulnerable.
  3. Locate and inspect the embedder template file
    Access the plugin directory via FTP or file manager; navigate to the templates folder (typically /simple-link-directory/templates/ or similar) and locate the embed template file. Open it and review how shortcode attributes are output into HTML data attributes.
    Affected if The template outputs shortcode attribute values directly into HTML without using escaping functions like esc_attr().
  4. Search database for suspicious event handler attributes
    Query the wp_posts table (or use a plugin/search tool) for content containing shortcode attributes that include event handlers such as onmouseover, onclick, onerror, or onload.
    Affected if Any stored shortcode or rendered output contains unsanitized event handler attributes like onmouseover or onclick.

You are affected if Simple Link Directory version 9.0.4 or lower is installed, the embed shortcode is in use, and the template lacks proper output escaping or malicious event handlers are present in your 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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Simple Link Directory to version 9.0.5 or later which patches the escaping vulnerability; alternatively, restrict shortcode creation permissions until the patch can be applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Simple Link Directory 9.0.5 or latest available version

  1. Log in to WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Find Simple Link Directory in the plugin list
  4. Check if an update is available for Simple Link Directory
  5. If update available, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to the latest version
  6. After updating, verify the plugin version is 9.0.5 or later
  7. Test the shortcode functionality to ensure legitimate functionality still works

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2026-53742 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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