CVE-2026-85235
Received Received - Intake

Stored XSS in Forminator WordPress Plugin

Publication date: 2026-10-01

Last updated on: 2026-10-01

Assigner: Wordfence

Description
The Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Rich-Text Textarea Field in all versions up to, and including, 1.57.2 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. Successful exploitation requires an administrator to open the stored submission entry in the Forminator Entries view and interact with the planted link, at which point WordPress core's jQuery-based click handler on `.contextual-help-tabs a` evaluates the entity-decoded href as HTML, firing the attacker's payload in the administrator's authenticated wp-admin session.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-10-01
Last Modified
2026-10-01
Generated
2026-10-01
AI Q&A
2026-10-01
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-85235
EUVD
EUVD-2026-90565

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
wpforms forminator to 1.57.2 (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

This vulnerability is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) flaw in the Forminator Forms WordPress plugin. It allows unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts via a Rich-Text Textarea Field due to poor input sanitization and output escaping. The injected scripts execute when an administrator views the submission entry and interacts with a planted link, which WordPress core's jQuery handler then processes as HTML.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the WordPress Forminator plugin and requires checking for outdated versions. Use WordPress admin to verify the plugin version. If using WP-CLI, run: wp plugin list | grep forminator. Ensure no version up to 1.57.2 is installed.

Impact Analysis

An attacker could steal sensitive admin session data, such as authentication cookies, or perform actions on behalf of the admin. This could lead to unauthorized access, data theft, or further compromise of the WordPress site. The attack requires admin interaction but can be triggered by viewing a malicious submission entry.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access or data breaches, violating GDPR's data protection requirements or HIPAA's safeguards for protected health information. If exploited, it may result in non-compliance, legal penalties, or reputational damage due to compromised user data.

Mitigation Strategies

Update the Forminator Forms plugin to the latest version beyond 1.57.2 to patch the vulnerability. Disable the Rich-Text Textarea Field feature if not required. Regularly review Forminator Entries for suspicious content and restrict admin access to trusted users only.

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