Stored XSS via unescaped shortcode attributes
Published Jun 7, 2023 · Updated Apr 8, 2026
Stored XSS in King-Theme KingComposer before 2.9.4 allows remote authenticated users to inject scripts through crafted shortcodes. In kingcomposer/shortcodes/kc_row_inner.php, the column_align attribute is inserted into data-kc-equalheight-align without output escaping. An authenticated account with shortcode-editing access must save the payload, which runs in the browser of anyone viewing the affected page.
Summary
What happened
Stored XSS in King-Theme KingComposer before 2.9.4 allows remote authenticated users to inject scripts through crafted shortcodes. In kingcomposer/shortcodes/kc_row_inner.php, the column_align attribute is inserted into data-kc-equalheight-align without output escaping. An authenticated account with shortcode-editing access must save the payload, which runs in the browser of anyone viewing the affected page.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2020-36709
- Published
- Jun 7, 2023
- Updated
- Apr 8, 2026
- Vendor
- King-Theme
- Product
- KingComposer
- Classifications
- CWE-79, T1203
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jun 7, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 8, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <2.9.4
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- kc_row_inner column_align stored-XSS payloadproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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