CVE-2026-10738
Deferred Deferred - Pending Action

Stored XSS in jQuery Hover Footnotes WordPress Plugin

Publication date: 2026-06-09

Last updated on: 2026-06-09

Assigner: Wordfence

Description
The jQuery Hover Footnotes plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Footnote Qualifier ('{{...}}' Syntax) in all versions up to, and including, 1.4 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with author-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. The attribute-breakout payload (e.g., a double-quote followed by an event handler) contains no angle brackets and therefore bypasses WordPress core's wp_kses_post() filtering, which only strips disallowed HTML tags rather than sanitizing attribute contexts.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-06-09
Last Modified
2026-06-09
Generated
2026-06-29
AI Q&A
2026-06-09
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-28
NVD
CVE-2026-10738
EUVD
EUVD-2026-35312

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
jquery jquery_hover_footnotes to 1.4 (inc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-79 The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.

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Executive Summary

The jQuery Hover Footnotes plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) via the Footnote Qualifier ('{{...}}' syntax) in all versions up to and including 1.4. This vulnerability arises due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping.

Authenticated attackers with author-level access or higher can inject arbitrary web scripts into pages. These scripts execute whenever any user accesses the injected page.

The attack payload uses an attribute-breakout technique (such as a double-quote followed by an event handler) that contains no angle brackets, allowing it to bypass WordPress core's wp_kses_post() filtering, which only removes disallowed HTML tags but does not sanitize attribute contexts.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows attackers with author-level access to inject malicious scripts into WordPress pages, which will execute in the browsers of users who visit those pages.

The impact includes potential theft of user credentials, session hijacking, defacement of the website, or distribution of malware to visitors.

Since the vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.4 with low attack complexity and no user interaction required, it represents a significant risk to site integrity and user security.

Compliance Impact

The vulnerability allows authenticated attackers with author-level access to inject arbitrary web scripts that execute when users access the injected pages. This Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) flaw can lead to unauthorized access to user data or session hijacking, potentially compromising confidentiality and integrity of data.

Such security weaknesses can negatively impact compliance with standards and regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, which require protection of personal and sensitive data against unauthorized access and attacks.

However, the provided context does not explicitly mention compliance impacts or specific regulatory considerations.

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