CVE-2026-11767: Elementor Form Builder XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2026-11767 Overview

CVE-2026-11767 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Free Builder for Elementor WordPress plugin versions prior to 1.6.7. The plugin fails to sanitize contact form field values before storing them in the database and rendering them in the WordPress admin dashboard. Unauthenticated attackers can submit malicious JavaScript payloads through public-facing contact forms. The payload executes when a logged-in administrator views the submitted form entries. This vulnerability is classified under [CWE-79] Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in an administrator's browser session, enabling account takeover, session theft, and full site compromise.

Affected Products

• Free Builder for Elementor WordPress plugin versions before 1.6.7
• WordPress sites with the vulnerable plugin installed and contact forms enabled
• Administrator accounts reviewing form submissions in the WordPress dashboard

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-07-21 - CVE-2026-11767 published to NVD
• 2026-07-21 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-11767

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the contact form submission handler of the Free Builder for Elementor plugin. Submitted field values pass directly from user input into database storage without HTML encoding or sanitization. When an administrator opens the form submissions view in the WordPress admin panel, the stored values render as raw HTML in the page. Any script tags or event handler attributes injected by an attacker execute in the administrator's authenticated browser context.

Because the attack path requires no authentication on the submission side, any visitor to a public contact form can deliver the payload. The user interaction requirement applies to the victim administrator who must view the submissions page, not to the attacker.

Root Cause

The plugin lacks two required controls: input sanitization at the point of storage and output escaping at the point of rendering. WordPress provides native functions such as sanitize_text_field() for input handling and esc_html() or esc_attr() for output. Neither category of function is applied to contact form field values before they reach the admin dashboard, leaving the stored data path unprotected against script injection.

Attack Vector

An attacker locates a public contact form generated by the vulnerable plugin. The attacker submits form fields containing JavaScript payloads, for example inside a name, email, or message field. The submission is stored in the WordPress database without modification. When an administrator navigates to the form submissions area to review new entries, the browser parses and executes the attacker-controlled script under the administrator's session. The script can create new administrator accounts, exfiltrate authentication cookies, modify plugin or theme files, or pivot to further attacks on connected infrastructure.

Refer to the WPScan Vulnerability Advisory for additional technical detail on the injection point.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-11767

Indicators of Compromise

• Contact form submissions containing <script> tags, javascript: URIs, or DOM event handlers such as onerror= and onload= in stored fields
• Unexpected administrator account creation events immediately following form submission review activity
• Outbound HTTP requests from the admin browser to unknown domains while viewing the form submissions page
• Modifications to WordPress user roles, plugin files, or theme files with no corresponding administrator action in access logs

Detection Strategies

• Inspect the WordPress database tables used by the plugin for stored form entries and search for HTML tags or JavaScript syntax in text fields
• Deploy a web application firewall rule to log requests to the plugin's form submission endpoint containing script or event handler patterns
• Correlate administrator login sessions with unusual outbound network activity originating from browsers accessing /wp-admin/

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable WordPress audit logging to record all administrator actions, plugin changes, and user role modifications
• Monitor HTTP POST requests to contact form endpoints for payloads containing HTML control characters
• Alert on creation of new administrator accounts or changes to existing account privileges outside of change windows

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-11767

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Free Builder for Elementor plugin to version 1.6.7 or later on all affected WordPress installations
• Review recent contact form submissions for injected script content and delete malicious entries before administrators view them
• Audit WordPress administrator accounts and remove any unauthorized users created during the exposure window
• Rotate administrator credentials and invalidate active sessions if suspicious submissions were viewed prior to patching

Patch Information

The vendor addressed CVE-2026-11767 in Free Builder for Elementor version 1.6.7. The fix introduces sanitization of submitted form field values before database storage and applies output escaping when rendering submissions in the admin dashboard. Administrators should apply the update through the WordPress plugin management interface and verify the installed version reports 1.6.7 or higher.

Workarounds

• Deactivate the Free Builder for Elementor plugin until the patch can be applied if immediate updating is not possible
• Restrict access to the WordPress admin dashboard using IP allowlisting at the web server or firewall layer
• Deploy a web application firewall rule that blocks contact form submissions containing HTML tags or JavaScript event handlers

# Verify installed plugin version using WP-CLI
wp plugin get free-builder-for-elementor --field=version

# Update the plugin to the patched release
wp plugin update free-builder-for-elementor --version=1.6.7