CVE-2026-65538 MEDIUM

CVE-2026-65538: WordPress Machete plugin <= 5.2 - Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability

Vendor Nilo Velez

Product Machete

Weakness CWE-79 · XSS

Published July 23, 2026

Last update July 23, 2026

View on NVD All CVEs

CVSS base score

5.9/10

Attack vector Network

Attack complexity Low

Privileges required High

User interaction Required

Confidentiality Low

Integrity Low

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L

What the vulnerability does

01Description

Author Cross Site Scripting (XSS) in Machete <= 5.2 versions.

Explanation of Vulnerability in Simple Terms

02Summary

Machete versions up to 5.2 contain a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that allows an authenticated administrator to inject malicious scripts. The vulnerability requires user interaction—typically a victim visiting a crafted page—and can affect other users' sessions and data. The impact is limited to low-severity confidentiality, integrity, and availability breaches.

What an attacker can do

03Attacker Capabilities

Inject malicious scripts that execute in other users' browsers and affect their sessions or data.

Potential impact on your site

04Site Impact

A malicious admin can inject scripts affecting other users' accounts, data, or site functionality; scope extends beyond the vulnerable component.

Conditions required to exploit

05Prerequisites

Attacker must have high-level privileges (administrator role) and the victim must visit a page containing the malicious payload.

Key dates

06Disclosure timeline

July 23, 2026 CVE published

External resources

07References

NVD — National Vulnerability Database https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-65538 CWE — Common Weakness Enumeration https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/79.html AskarLabs — CWE-79 write-up Cross-Site Scripting

Related vulnerabilities