CVE-2026-1512: Essential Addons for Elementor XSS Flaw

CVE-2026-1512 Overview

The Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) via the plugin's Info Box widget in all versions up to, and including, 6.5.9. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user-supplied attributes. This allows authenticated attackers with contributor-level access and above to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers can inject persistent malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of all users who view affected pages, potentially leading to session hijacking, defacement, or further compromise of the WordPress site.

Affected Products

• Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets plugin for WordPress versions up to and including 6.5.9
• WordPress sites using the vulnerable Info Box widget
• All WordPress installations with contributor-level or higher user accounts enabled

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-14 - CVE CVE-2026-1512 published to NVD
• 2026-02-18 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-1512

Vulnerability Analysis

This Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability (CWE-79) exists within the Info Box widget component of the Essential Addons for Elementor plugin. The vulnerability occurs because user-supplied attributes are not properly sanitized before being stored in the database and are not adequately escaped when rendered on the page.

The attack requires authenticated access at the contributor level or higher, which is a common privilege level in WordPress environments where multiple authors or editors contribute content. Once malicious scripts are injected, they persist in the database and execute in the context of any user's browser session when they access the affected page, including administrators.

The scope of this vulnerability extends beyond the vulnerable component (Changed Scope in CVSS terms), meaning the impact can affect resources beyond the security scope of the vulnerable plugin itself. This allows for potential compromise of user sessions, including administrative accounts.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input sanitization and output escaping within the Info_Box.php file of the Essential Addons for Elementor plugin. The widget fails to properly validate and sanitize user-supplied attributes before storing them and does not apply adequate output escaping when rendering these attributes in the HTML output. This allows attackers to craft malicious input containing JavaScript code that bypasses the limited sanitization in place.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires authentication with at least contributor-level privileges. The attacker does not need user interaction beyond the initial injection since the malicious script executes automatically when any user views the affected page.

The attack flow involves:

1. An authenticated user with contributor-level access creates or edits content using the Info Box widget
2. The attacker crafts malicious JavaScript payloads within widget attributes
3. Due to insufficient sanitization, the payload is stored in the WordPress database
4. When any user (including administrators) views the page containing the malicious Info Box, the injected script executes in their browser context
5. The attacker can then steal session cookies, perform actions on behalf of the victim, or further compromise the site

For technical details on the specific code changes that address this vulnerability, refer to the WordPress Plugin Changeset.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-1512

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected JavaScript code within Info Box widget content in the WordPress database
• Unusual network requests originating from page views to external domains
• Reports from users experiencing unexpected behavior or redirects when viewing specific pages
• Web application firewall (WAF) logs showing XSS pattern matches in POST requests to WordPress admin

Detection Strategies

• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to detect and block unauthorized inline script execution
• Deploy WordPress security plugins that scan for malicious code injections in page content
• Review audit logs for suspicious content modifications by contributor-level accounts
• Use web application firewalls configured to detect XSS payloads in form submissions

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor WordPress database tables for posts containing suspicious JavaScript patterns in widget metadata
• Enable logging and alerting on plugin file changes to detect unauthorized modifications
• Track user session activities for anomalous behavior that could indicate session hijacking
• Review Elementor widget content periodically for injected scripts

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-1512

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Essential Addons for Elementor plugin to version 6.5.10 or later immediately
• Audit existing content created with the Info Box widget for signs of malicious script injection
• Review contributor-level user accounts for any suspicious activity or unauthorized access
• Consider temporarily restricting contributor access until the update is applied

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in version 6.5.10 of the Essential Addons for Elementor plugin. The fix implements proper input sanitization and output escaping for user-supplied attributes in the Info Box widget.

For detailed information about the patch, see the WordPress Plugin Changeset. Additional vulnerability details are available in the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Workarounds

• Restrict contributor-level access temporarily until the patch can be applied
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to filter XSS patterns in widget attribute submissions
• Use Content Security Policy headers to mitigate the impact of any injected scripts
• Disable the Info Box widget if it is not essential to site functionality until the update is applied

# Example: Add CSP header to WordPress via .htaccess
# Add to your .htaccess file in the WordPress root directory
<IfModule mod_headers.c>
    Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline';"
</IfModule>