dbcve.org
Cross-site Scripting (XSS)Weakness · CWE-79

CVE-2026-6256

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-12
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 Credits Shortcode plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'link' attribute of the 'credits' shortcode in all versions up to, and including, 1.2 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. 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.

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 Credits Shortcode plugin for WordPress fails to sanitize the 'link' attribute in the credits shortcode and does not properly escape output, allowing stored XSS. Authenticated users with contributor-level access can inject malicious JavaScript via the link parameter that executes when other users view the affected page.

MitigationUpdate to the latest version when available; meanwhile, restrict contributor-level user permissions and audit existing shortcode usage.

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 Credits Shortcode plugin is installed
    Go to WordPress admin > Plugins and check if 'Credits Shortcode' appears in the installed plugins list. Note the installed version shown.
    Affected if Plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Confirm plugin version against fixed release
    Locate the installed version number in Plugins > Installed Plugins > Credits Shortcode. Compare this to the latest version on wordpress.org or the version marked as fixed by the vendor.
    Affected if Installed version is older than the patched version (if known) or any version if patch status is unknown
  3. Identify contributor-level user accounts
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Users and review the role assigned to each account. Contributor role has edit_posts capability but cannot publish.
    Affected if Any user account with Contributor role exists in the system
  4. Search for credits shortcode usage in content
    Use WordPress database query or search: SELECT * FROM wp_posts WHERE post_content LIKE '%[credits%' AND post_status IN ('publish','draft','pending') to find pages/posts using the shortcode.
    Affected if Any published or draft content contains the [credits] shortcode
  5. Inspect shortcode link attribute values
    Examine the content found above for [credits link="..."] patterns. Manually review or search for unusual URL patterns such as javascript:, onload=, or HTML tags within the link parameter.
    Affected if Any credits shortcode usage contains a link attribute with unsanitized or potentially malicious values

The environment is affected if the Credits Shortcode plugin is installed, contributor users exist, and the shortcode with a link attribute is present in any 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 to the latest version when available; meanwhile, restrict contributor-level user permissions and audit existing shortcode usage.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Version 1.3 or later (next release after 1.2)

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the 'Credits Shortcode' plugin
  4. Check if the current version is 1.2 or below (vulnerable)
  5. If vulnerable, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
  6. Alternatively, download the latest version from wordpress.org/plugins/credits-shortcode/ and upload via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  7. After updating, verify the new version number reflects the fix
  8. Test that the 'credits' shortcode functions correctly with the 'link' attribute

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

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-2026-6256 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data