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…

published December 27, 2019

CVSS
—
EPSS
5%
Percentile
91.5
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

⚠️ A surprisingly sneaky flaw in WordPress could let attackers bypass input sanitization! This bug, found in the wp_kses_bad_protocol function, mishandles HTML5 colon named entities like a chef ignoring a crucial ingredient. 🍽️ Think of it like a restaurant that doesn’t bother checking if the ingredients are fresh. If a chef accepts spoiled ingredients, it could ruin the entire dish—similarly, this vulnerability can let harmful scripts slip through the cracks undetected! An attacker could use this flaw to inject malicious scripts into your WordPress site, potentially compromising user data or even taking control of your site. While there's no known active exploitation, it's a ticking time bomb—addressing it now protects your precious content from future threats!

Put simply

Think of it like a restaurant that doesn’t bother checking if the ingredients are fresh. If a chef accepts spoiled ingredients, it could ruin the entire dish—similarly, this vulnerability can let harmful scripts slip through the cracks undetected! The vulnerability in wp_kses_bad_protocol allows crafted HTML5 colon named entities to bypass input sanitization checks. Specifically, this means that an attacker could insert scripts like 'javascript:' without being filtered out, leading to potential XSS attacks.

What to do

An attacker could use this flaw to inject malicious scripts into your WordPress site, potentially compromising user data or even taking control of your site. While there's no known active exploitation, it's a ticking time bomb—addressing it now protects your precious content from future threats! To protect your site, update WordPress to version 5.3.1 or higher immediately. It’s also wise to audit your input handling and sanitize user input thoroughly to prevent any similar issues in the future. 🛡️ You've got this! Just follow these steps, and you'll keep your WordPress site secure from this sneaky bug. 🚀

The record
Technical detail
CVSS
Not scored
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.04529 · 91.5th percentile
Published
2019-12-27T07:14Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 27 DEC 07:14Z
    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…
    cvelistv5