CVE-2026-12938
Newsletters <= 4.15 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'target' Shortcode Attribute
The Newsletters Lite plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'target' attribute of the [newsletters_post] shortcode in versions up to and including 4.15. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in the posts_single() function which propagates the attacker-controlled 'target' attribute into the global $wpml_target, and in the shortcode_posts() 'post_thumbnail' handler which concatenates $wpml_target into a target="..." HTML attribute without esc_attr(). 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.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
6.4
Newsletters <= 4.15 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'target' Shortcode Attribute
The Newsletters Lite plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'target' attribute of the [newsletters_post] shortcode in versions up to and including 4.15. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in the posts_single() function which propagates the attacker-controlled 'target' attribute into the global $wpml_target, and in the shortcode_posts() 'post_thumbnail' handler which concatenates $wpml_target into a target="..." HTML attribute without esc_attr(). 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.
- Record
CVE-2026-12938- CVSS 3.1
- 6.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-50095
6.4
The Newsletters Lite plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'target' attribute of the [newsletters_post] shortcode in versions up to and including 4.15. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in the posts_single() function which propagates the attacker-controlled 'target' attribute into the global $wpml_target, and in the shortcode_posts() 'post_thumbnail' handler which concatenates $wpml_target into a target="..." HTML attribute without esc_attr(). 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.
- Record
EUVD-2026-50095- CVSS 3.1
- 6.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-qmcf-q538-935f
6.4
The Newsletters Lite plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the ...
The Newsletters Lite plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'target' attribute of the [newsletters_post] shortcode in versions up to and including 4.15. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in the posts_single() function which propagates the attacker-controlled 'target' attribute into the global $wpml_target, and in the shortcode_posts() 'post_thumbnail' handler which concatenates $wpml_target into a target="..." HTML attribute without esc_attr(). 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.
- Record
GHSA-qmcf-q538-935f- CVSS 3.1
- 6.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
6.4
The Newsletters Lite plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'target' attribute of the [newsletters_post] shortcode in versions up to and including 4.15. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in the posts_single() function which propagates the attacker-controlled 'target' attribute into the global $wpml_target, and in the shortcode_posts() 'post_thumbnail' handler which concatenates $wpml_target into a target="..." HTML attribute without esc_attr(). 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.
- Record
CVE-2026-12938- CVSS 3.1
- 6.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-12938 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.4) in Contrid Newsletters, published July 29, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.35%, the 28th percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/293abae5-a7fb-401f-af09-324a81ce8709?source=cve
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/newsletters-lite/tags/4.15/helpers/shortcode.php
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/newsletters-lite/tags/4.15/includes/checkinit.php
plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3621582%40newsletters-lite&new=3621582%40newsletters-lite
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-12938
github.com/advisories/GHSA-qmcf-q538-935f