CVE-2019-20041
wp_kses_bad_protocol in wp-includes/kses.php in WordPress before 5.3.1 mishandles the HTML5 colon...
wp_kses_bad_protocol in wp-includes/kses.php in WordPress before 5.3.1 mishandles the HTML5 colon named entity, allowing attackers to bypass input sanitization, as demonstrated by the javascript: substring.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
wp_kses_bad_protocol in wp-includes/kses.php in WordPress before 5.3.1 mishandles the HTML5 colon named entity, allowing attackers to bypass input sanitization, as demonstrated by the javascript: substring.
- Record
CVE-2019-20041- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.5 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
wp_kses_bad_protocol in wp-includes/kses.php in WordPress before 5.3.1 mishandles the HTML5 colon named entity, allowing attackers to bypass input sanitization, as demonstrated by the javascript: substring.
- Record
CVE-2019-20041- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2019-10597 No score
wp_kses_bad_protocol in wp-includes/kses.php in WordPress before 5.3.1 mishandles the HTML5 colon named entity, allowing attackers to bypass input sanitization, as demonstrated by the javascript: substring.
- Record
EUVD-2019-10597- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-8j68-mq56-8vpm
wp_kses_bad_protocol in wp-includes/kses.php in WordPress before 5.3.1 mishandles the HTML5 colon...
wp_kses_bad_protocol in wp-includes/kses.php in WordPress before 5.3.1 mishandles the HTML5 colon named entity, allowing attackers to bypass input sanitization, as demonstrated by the javascript: substring.
- Record
GHSA-8j68-mq56-8vpm- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
wp_kses_bad_protocol in wp-includes/kses.php in WordPress before 5.3.1 mishandles the HTML5 colon named entity, allowing attackers to bypass input sanitization, as demonstrated by the javascript: substring.
- Record
CVE-2019-20041- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2019-20041
wp_kses_bad_protocol in wp-includes/kses.php in WordPress before 5.3.1 mishandles the HTML5 colon named entity, allowing attackers to bypass input sanitization, as demonstrated by the javascript: substring.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2019-20041- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2019-20041
wp_kses_bad_protocol in wp-includes/kses.php in WordPress before 5.3.1 mishandles the HTML5 colon named entity, allowing attackers to bypass input sanitization, as demonstrated by the javascript: substring.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2019-20041- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
wordpressDebian:12 |
before 5.3.2+dfsg1-1 | 5.3.2+dfsg1-1 |
wordpressDebian:13 |
before 5.3.2+dfsg1-1 | 5.3.2+dfsg1-1 |
wordpressDebian:14 |
before 5.3.2+dfsg1-1 | 5.3.2+dfsg1-1 |
wordpressDebian:8 |
before 4.1.29+dfsg-0+deb8u1, plus listed versions 4.1+dfsg-14.1+dfsg-1+deb8u14.1+dfsg-1+deb8u104.1+dfsg-1+deb8u114.1+dfsg-1+deb8u12 Show 19 moreShow less4.1+dfsg-1+deb8u134.1+dfsg-1+deb8u144.1+dfsg-1+deb8u154.1+dfsg-1+deb8u164.1+dfsg-1+deb8u174.1+dfsg-1+deb8u184.1+dfsg-1+deb8u24.1+dfsg-1+deb8u34.1+dfsg-1+deb8u44.1+dfsg-1+deb8u54.1+dfsg-1+deb8u64.1+dfsg-1+deb8u74.1+dfsg-1+deb8u84.1+dfsg-1+deb8u94.1.1+dfsg-14.1.25+dfsg-1+deb8u14.1.26+dfsg-1+deb8u14.1.27+dfsg-0+deb8u14.1.28+dfsg-0+deb8u1 |
4.1.29+dfsg-0+deb8u1 |
wordpressDebian:10 From an advisory covering 18 CVEs |
before 5.0.4+dfsg1-1+deb10u1, plus listed versions 5.0.4+dfsg1-1 |
5.0.4+dfsg1-1+deb10u1 |
wordpressUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 4.3+dfsg-14.3.1+dfsg-14.4+dfsg-14.4.1+dfsg-14.4.2+dfsg-14.4.2+dfsg-1ubuntu1 |
None known |
wordpressUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 4.8.2+dfsg-24.8.3+dfsg-14.9.1+dfsg-14.9.2+dfsg-14.9.4+dfsg-14.9.5+dfsg1-1 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2019-20041 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Wordpress, published December 27, 2019. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 4.53%, the 91st percentile. Fixed in wordpress 5.3.2+dfsg1-1.
References
wordpress.org/news/2019/12/wordpress-5-3-1-security-and-maintenance-release
github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/commit/b1975463dd995da19bb40d3fa0786498717e3c53
seclists.org/bugtraq/2020/Jan/8
debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4599
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/01/msg00010.html