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

CVE-2026-8875

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-27
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 Easy Prism Syntax Highlighter plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's 'code' (and 'c') shortcode in versions up to, and including, 1.0.2. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied shortcode attributes in the shortcode() function, which concatenates the first positional attribute directly into the class attribute of the generated <pre>/<code> HTML without calling esc_attr() or any other escaping function. 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 Easy Prism Syntax Highlighter WordPress plugin fails to escape the first positional shortcode attribute before inserting it into the class attribute of generated <pre>/<code> HTML elements. An authenticated attacker with contributor-level access can inject arbitrary JavaScript by supplying a malicious attribute value (e.g., [code"><script>alert(1)</script>]), which executes whenever users view pages containing the injected shortcode.

MitigationUpdate to the latest version of the plugin when available, or modify the shortcode() function to wrap the first positional attribute with esc_attr() before concatenating it into the HTML class. Audit existing posts/pages for existing injections.

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 plugin installation and activation status
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Plugins and confirm Easy Prism Syntax Highlighter is installed and active
    Affected if Plugin is installed and active with no known patched version confirmed
  2. Identify installed plugin version
    Check the plugin version listed in the Plugins admin page or inspect the plugin header in /wp-content/plugins/easy-prism-syntax-highlighter/ directory
    Affected if Installed version is unknown or predates the security fix (no fixed version specified in advisory)
  3. Search for shortcode usage in content
    Query the wp_posts table for occurrences of the [prism] or [code] shortcode, or use WP CLI: wp post list --post_type=any --search='[prism' --format=ids
    Affected if Shortcodes from this plugin are present in any published posts, pages, or custom post types
  4. Inspect shortcode attributes in content
    Examine the shortcode syntax in affected posts; specifically look for the first positional attribute (content between opening bracket and first space) for unusual characters like quotes, angle brackets, or script tags
    Affected if The first positional shortcode attribute contains unsanitized user input such as quote characters followed by event handlers or script tags (e.g., [code"><script>...] or [code" onmouseover=...])

Your environment is affected if the Easy Prism Syntax Highlighter plugin is active, the installed version lacks the security fix, and the vulnerable shortcode with an injectable first attribute exists in any published 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 of the plugin when available, or modify the shortcode() function to wrap the first positional attribute with esc_attr() before concatenating it into the HTML class. Audit existing posts/pages for existing injections.

Recommended fix High confidence

Any version above 1.0.2 (check WordPress plugin repository for latest stable release)

  1. Check the current version of the Easy Prism Syntax Highlighter plugin installed on the WordPress site
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins in the WordPress admin dashboard
  3. Locate Easy Prism Syntax Highlighter and verify current version is 1.0.2 or below
  4. Update the plugin to the latest available version from the WordPress plugin repository
  5. Verify the update completes successfully
  6. Test that the 'code' and 'c' shortcodes function correctly after the update
  7. Ensure any pages using the shortcode are rendering correctly with proper HTML escaping

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2026-8875 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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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