CVE-2026-97641
Received Received - Intake

Stored XSS in Relevanssi WordPress Plugin via Comment Content

Publication date: 2026-10-02

Last updated on: 2026-10-02

Assigner: Wordfence

Description
The Relevanssi – A Better Search plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Comment Content in all versions up to, and including, 4.28.3 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. This is only exploitable when the administrator has configured a non-empty value for the "Allowable tags in excerpts" setting, such as the default example value of <p><a><strong>, as the prefix-matching regex must have an allowable tag whose name is a prefix of the injected tag name.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-10-02
Last Modified
2026-10-02
Generated
2026-10-02
AI Q&A
2026-10-02
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-97641
EUVD
EUVD-2026-91244

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
relevanssi relevanssi to 4.28.3 (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 Relevanssi WordPress plugin affecting versions up to 4.28.3. It allows unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts into comment content that executes when users view infected pages. The issue stems from insufficient input sanitization and output escaping, particularly when the administrator enables certain allowable HTML tags in excerpts.

Detection Guidance

Check if the Relevanssi plugin is installed and its version is up to 4.28.3 or lower. Inspect WordPress comment content for unusual scripts or payloads in search excerpts. Review plugin settings for 'Allowable tags in excerpts' to see if non-empty values like <p><a><strong> are configured.

Impact Analysis

Attackers could steal user sessions, redirect visitors to malicious sites, or deface your website. If your site uses Relevanssi and allows comments, visitors might unknowingly execute harmful scripts when viewing search results or pages containing infected comments. The impact depends on the attacker's goals and your site's configuration.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized data access or modification, violating GDPR's integrity and confidentiality requirements or HIPAA's security rules for protected health information. If exploited, it may result in data breaches that trigger mandatory breach notifications and potential fines under these regulations.

Mitigation Strategies

Update the Relevanssi plugin to the latest version to apply the sanitization fix. Disable the plugin temporarily if an update is not immediately available. Review and restrict 'Allowable tags in excerpts' settings to minimal safe tags.

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