CVE-2026-5797
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 · uneditedThe Quiz And Survey Master plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary Shortcode Execution in versions up to and including 11.1.0. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and the execution of do_shortcode() on user-submitted quiz answer text. User-submitted answers pass through sanitize_text_field() and htmlspecialchars(), which only strip HTML tags but do not encode or remove shortcode brackets [ and ]. When quiz results are displayed, the plugin calls do_shortcode() on the entire results page output (including user answers), causing any injected shortcodes to be executed. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary WordPress shortcodes such as [qsm_result id=X] to access other users' quiz submissions without authorization, as the qsm_result shortcode lacks any authorization checks.
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 confidenceThe Quiz And Survey Master WordPress plugin fails to properly sanitize user-submitted quiz answers. While sanitize_text_field() and htmlspecialchars() remove HTML tags, they do not encode or remove shortcode brackets [ and ]. When quiz results are displayed, do_shortcode() is called on the output including user answers, allowing unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary shortcodes like [qsm_result id=X] to access other users' quiz submissions without authorization.
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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if Quiz And Survey Master plugin is installedNavigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins. Look for 'Quiz And Survey Master' or 'QSM' in the plugin list. Note whether it is active or inactive.Affected if The plugin is installed and active, regardless of version (since no safe version is specified in the provided data)
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Determine the installed plugin versionIn the Plugins list, click on the Quiz And Survey Master plugin to view its details, or check the plugin files in wp-content/plugins/quiz-master-next/ for a version constant or readme.txt version number.Affected if The installed version cannot be confirmed as patched because no fixed version was provided in the CVE data
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Verify if quiz result submissions are publicly accessibleSubmit a quiz answer on the frontend of the site using the plugin's quiz form. Then attempt to view or access the submitted result without logging in, using the URL pattern that displays quiz results.Affected if Quiz results can be accessed by unauthenticated users, indicating the authorization vulnerability is present
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Check if shortcode output processing is applied to user answersInspect the plugin code files that handle displaying quiz results (typically in includes/functions.php or template files). Look for calls to do_shortcode() applied to user-submitted content or quiz answer variables.Affected if do_shortcode() is called on user-submitted quiz answers or results without prior removal of shortcode brackets
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Test for shortcode injection via quiz answer fieldSubmit a quiz with an answer containing a shortcode pattern such as [qsm_result id=1] or [qsm_result id=999]. Then view the submitted result to see if the shortcode is rendered/executed.Affected if The shortcode brackets are not stripped or encoded, and the shortcode executes or displays content from other quiz submissions
A user is affected if the Quiz And Survey Master plugin is active, user-submitted quiz answers are processed through do_shortcode(), and shortcode brackets are not removed from input, allowing unauthorized access to other users' quiz results.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedUpgrade to a version that properly sanitizes shortcode brackets from user input or removes do_shortcode() calls from user-generated content, and add authorization checks to the qsm_result shortcode.
Latest version of Quiz And Survey Master plugin (version higher than 11.1.0)
- 1. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
- 2. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- 3. Find Quiz And Survey Master in the plugin list
- 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
- 5. Alternatively, download the latest version from the WordPress plugin repository and upload it manually
- 6. After updating, verify the plugin is working correctly by testing quiz submissions
- 7. Review quiz results display to confirm shortcodes in user answers are no longer executed
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-5797 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-5797 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data