CVE-2026-2002: Forminator Forms Plugin XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2026-2002 Overview

The Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) via the form_name parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.50.2. This vulnerability arises from insufficient input sanitization and output escaping, allowing authenticated attackers with administrator-level access to inject arbitrary web scripts into pages. These malicious scripts execute whenever a user accesses the affected page, potentially compromising site visitors and other administrators.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers can inject persistent malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' sessions, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or further exploitation of the WordPress installation.

Affected Products

• Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder plugin for WordPress versions up to and including 1.50.2

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-17 - CVE CVE-2026-2002 published to NVD
• 2026-02-18 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-2002

Vulnerability Analysis

This Stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability exists due to improper handling of the form_name parameter within the Forminator Forms plugin. When form names are created or modified, the plugin fails to adequately sanitize user-supplied input and does not properly escape output when rendering form names in administrative or front-end contexts. As a result, malicious JavaScript code embedded in a form name persists in the database and executes in the browser whenever the affected page is loaded.

While the vulnerability requires administrator-level authentication by default, a critical aspect of this flaw is that the plugin allows administrators to delegate form management permissions to lower-privileged users such as subscribers. This permission delegation significantly expands the potential attack surface, enabling users with minimal privileges to exploit the vulnerability if they have been granted form management capabilities.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2026-2002 is insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in the handling of the form_name parameter. The plugin does not adequately validate or sanitize user input when form names are submitted, nor does it properly escape the stored data when rendering it in HTML contexts. This violates secure coding principles for handling user-controllable data in web applications.

Attack Vector

The attack is conducted over the network and requires authentication with at least administrator-level privileges or lower-level user access if form management permissions have been delegated. An attacker would:

1. Authenticate to the WordPress administrative interface with appropriate permissions
2. Navigate to the Forminator Forms management section
3. Create or edit a form, injecting malicious JavaScript code into the form_name parameter
4. The malicious script is stored in the WordPress database
5. When any user (including other administrators) views a page containing the form name, the injected script executes in their browser context

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 (Cross-Site Scripting). The malicious payload persists across sessions, making this a Stored XSS vulnerability rather than a reflected or DOM-based variant. For technical details on the fix, refer to the WordPress Plugin Changeset.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-2002

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected or obfuscated JavaScript code appearing in form names within the Forminator Forms plugin
• Suspicious form entries containing <script> tags, event handlers (e.g., onerror, onload), or encoded JavaScript payloads
• Browser console errors or unexpected network requests originating from WordPress administrative pages
• User reports of unusual behavior when accessing forms or administrative pages

Detection Strategies

• Review Forminator Forms entries for form names containing HTML tags or JavaScript code
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect XSS payloads in form submissions targeting the form_name parameter
• Monitor database tables associated with Forminator Forms for entries containing suspicious script content
• Enable Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to help mitigate the impact of XSS and generate violation reports

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure logging for all form creation and modification events within the Forminator plugin
• Implement real-time alerting for form names containing potentially malicious patterns
• Regularly audit user permissions to identify any lower-privileged users with delegated form management access
• Monitor WordPress administrative activity logs for unusual form editing patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-2002

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Forminator Forms plugin to the latest patched version beyond 1.50.2
• Audit all existing form names within the plugin for signs of injected malicious code
• Review and restrict form management permissions, removing delegation to lower-privileged users unless absolutely necessary
• Implement Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution sources

Patch Information

A security patch addressing this vulnerability is available. The fix involves implementing proper input sanitization and output escaping for the form_name parameter. Review the WordPress Plugin Changeset for technical details on the remediation. Additional analysis is available from the Wordfence Vulnerability Analysis.

Workarounds

• Restrict form management permissions to only trusted administrator accounts until patching is complete
• Implement a Web Application Firewall with XSS filtering rules targeting form submissions
• Manually sanitize any existing form names by removing HTML and JavaScript content
• Consider temporarily disabling the Forminator Forms plugin if it is not critical to operations until the patch can be applied

# WordPress CLI command to update the Forminator plugin
wp plugin update forminator --path=/var/www/html/wordpress

# Verify the installed version after update
wp plugin list --name=forminator --fields=name,version,status