CVE-2026-1216
📋 TL;DR
The RSS Aggregator WordPress plugin is vulnerable to reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) via the 'template' parameter. Unauthenticated attackers can inject malicious scripts that execute when users click specially crafted links. All WordPress sites using this plugin up to version 5.0.10 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress RSS Aggregator plugin
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could steal administrator session cookies, perform actions as authenticated users, redirect to malicious sites, or install backdoors.
Likely Case
Attackers steal user session cookies or credentials through phishing campaigns targeting WordPress administrators.
If Mitigated
With proper web application firewalls and security headers, script execution is blocked and impact is limited.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (clicking a malicious link) but no authentication.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Versions after 5.0.10
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'RSS Aggregator' and click 'Update Now'. 4. Verify version is 5.0.11 or higher.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable plugin
allTemporarily disable the RSS Aggregator plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate wp-rss-aggregator
Web Application Firewall rule
linuxBlock requests containing malicious script patterns in template parameter
ModSecurity rule: SecRule ARGS:template "@rx <script" "id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'XSS attempt in RSS Aggregator'"
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution
- Use a web application firewall to block XSS payloads in the template parameter
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for RSS Aggregator version 5.0.10 or lowerCheck Version:
wp plugin get wp-rss-aggregator --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 5.0.11 or higher in WordPress admin panel📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- HTTP requests with 'template' parameter containing script tags or JavaScript code
- Unusual referrer URLs containing script payloads
Network Indicators:
- GET requests with encoded script payloads in query parameters
- Traffic patterns showing users clicking suspicious links then performing admin actions
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND uri_query="*template=*<script*" OR uri_query="*template=*javascript:*"🔗 References
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-rss-aggregator/tags/5.0.10/core/src/Store/DisplaysStore.php#L106
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/wp-rss-aggregator/trunk/core/src/Store/DisplaysStore.php#L106
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&new=3439384%40wp-rss-aggregator%2Ftrunk&old=3421137%40wp-rss-aggregator%2Ftrunk&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/47a10dd4-515c-42d9-82ea-c84f8f7574c5?source=cve
