Author Image WordPress plugin: Stored Cross-Site Scripting via display_name
Summary
The Author Image plugin for WordPress, versions up to and including 4.9.3, does not sufficiently sanitize the 'display_name' parameter or escape its output. An authenticated attacker with at least Subscriber-level access can store arbitrary web scripts that execute in the browser of anyone who views the injected page, including administrators. The CVSS base score is 6.4 (medium).
Affected
- Author Image (WordPress plugin, slug sem-author-image) by denis-de-bernardy
- All versions up to and including 4.9.3
- Requires an authenticated account with Subscriber-level access or higher
Fixed in
Unknown. No fixed version has been confirmed; the plugin listing still shows 4.9.3.
Workaround
- No vendor workaround found.
- Deactivate the plugin if the author-image feature is not needed.
- Restrict or disable public user registration.
- Review existing user display names for script content and remove any found.
- A WAF rule may serve as a compensating control (not a vendor-sourced fix).
Exploitation
- Not known to be exploited (as reported by an aggregator).
- No public proof of concept found at the time of research.
Our recommendation
- Check whether the Author Image plugin is installed and active on your WordPress sites.
- Deactivate or remove the plugin if the feature is not needed.
- Disable open user registration or restrict new accounts on public sites.
- Review user display names for injected script content and clean up any found.
- Monitor the WordPress.org plugin page and the Wordfence record for an update and apply it as soon as it is available.
- Treat this as high priority on public sites with open registration.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- CVE Record CVE-2026-119097 www.cve.org
- Wordfence Threat Intelligence record www.wordfence.com
- Plugin source: sem-author-image.php (line 394) plugins.trac.wordpress.org
- Plugin source: sem-author-image.php (line 608) plugins.trac.wordpress.org
- WordPress plugin listing: sem-author-image wordpress.com
- OffSeq Radar threat entry radar.offseq.com
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 11 Nov 2026, 13:43.
Original description (NVD)
The Author Image plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'display_name' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 4.9.3 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.
NVD references (4)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/sem-author-image/trunk/sem-author-image.php#L394
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/sem-author-image/trunk/sem-author-image.php#L398
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/sem-author-image/trunk/sem-author-image.php#L608
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ecce583b-1e72-44e1-ab33-6cc647e62119?source=cve
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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