CVE-2026-18978: XSS (CVSS 7.2)

Description

The LiteSpeed Cache plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Comment Content in all versions up to, and including, 7.8.1 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. A comment payload crafted exclusively from decimal numeric character references (e.g. ", <, >) placed inside an allowed element such as <code> bypasses WordPress's wp_kses sanitization, as kses does not treat a data-settings="..." substring within text content as an HTML attribute, allowing the malicious payload to reach the vulnerable function. For this to be exploitable, the site must allow users with previously approved comments to write new comments, and the require_name_email setting must be disabled.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.2

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0027

Probability of exploitation

0.20%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-79 Cross-site Scripting (XSS)

References

Other References

https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/litespeed-cache/trunk/src/media.cls.php#L1317 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/litespeed-cache/trunk/src/media.cls.php#L1358 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/litespeed-cache/trunk/src/media.cls.php#L1405 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/litespeed-cache/trunk/src/media.cls.php#L777 https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3635849/litespeed-cache/trunk/src/media.cls.php https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?old_path=%2Flitespeed-cache/tags/7.8.1&new_path=%2Flitespeed-cache/tags/7.9 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/0b045f3d-8412-4e35-b369-2b485639274d?source=cve

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-18978? +

The LiteSpeed Cache plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Comment Content in all versions up to, and including, 7.8.1 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. A comment payload crafted exclusively from decimal numeric character references (e.g. ", <, >) placed inside an allowed element such as <code> bypasses WordPress's wp_kses sanitization, as kses does not treat a data-settings="..." substring within text content as an HTML attribute, allowing the malicious payload to reach the vulnerable function. For this to be exploitable, the site must allow users with previously approved comments to write new comments, and the require_name_email setting must be disabled. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.2 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-18978? +

CVE-2026-18978 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.2 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0027, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-18978? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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