CVE-2020-4047Network attack vector

Stored XSS via decoded attachment content

Published Jun 12, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Stored XSS in WordPress allows remote authenticated users with upload permissions to execute script in an editor's browser. The edit_form_image_editor function passes attachment post_content directly to wp_editor, which decodes HTML entities because the editor context is not set. Author-level upload permission is required, and execution occurs only when a higher-privileged user views the crafted media attachment.

CVSS severity6.8
Medium
EPSS probability3.27%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Stored XSS in WordPress allows remote authenticated users with upload permissions to execute script in an editor's browser. The edit_form_image_editor function passes attachment post_content directly to wp_editor, which decodes HTML entities because the editor context is not set. Author-level upload permission is required, and execution occurs only when a higher-privileged user views the crafted media attachment.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-4047
Published
Jun 12, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
WordPress.org
Product
WordPress
Classifications
CWE-80, T1203
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 12, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=>= 3.7.0, < 3.7.34
  2. Affected versionversion=>= 3.8.0, < 3.8.34
  3. Affected versionversion=>= 3.9.0, < 3.9.32
  4. Affected versionversion=>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.31
  5. Affected versionversion=>= 4.1.0, < 4.1.31
  6. Affected versionversion=>= 4.2.0, < 4.2.28
  7. Affected versionversion=>= 4.3.0, < 4.3.24
  8. Affected versionversion=>= 4.4.0, < 4.4.23
  9. Affected versionversion=>= 4.5.0, < 4.5.22
  10. Affected versionversion=>= 4.6.0, < 4.6.19
  11. Affected versionversion=>= 4.7.0, < 4.7.18
  12. Affected versionversion=>= 4.8.0, < 4.8.14
  13. Affected versionversion=>= 4.9.0, < 4.9.15
  14. Affected versionversion=>= 5.0.0, < 5.0.10
  15. Affected versionversion=>= 5.1.0, < 5.1.6
  16. Affected versionversion=>= 5.2.0, < 5.2.7
  17. Affected versionversion=>= 5.3.0, < 5.3.4
  18. Affected versionversion=>= 5.4.0, < 5.4.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

WordPress.org · WordPressversion=>= 3.7.0, < 3.7.34; version=>= 3.8.0, < 3.8.34; version=>= 3.9.0, < 3.9.32; version=>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.31; version=>= 4.1.0, < 4.1.31; version=>= 4.2.0, < 4.2.28; version=>= 4.3.0, < 4.3.24; version=>= 4.4.0, < 4.4.23; version=>= 4.5.0, < 4.5.22; version=>= 4.6.0, < 4.6.19; version=>= 4.7.0, < 4.7.18; version=>= 4.8.0, < 4.8.14; version=>= 4.9.0, < 4.9.15; version=>= 5.0.0, < 5.0.10; version=>= 5.1.0, < 5.1.6; version=>= 5.2.0, < 5.2.7; version=>= 5.3.0, < 5.3.4; version=>= 5.4.0, < 5.4.2

Published CVSS scores

3.5NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N
6.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-80Improper Neutralization of Script-Related HTML Tags in a Web Page (Basic XSS)
T1203Exploitation for Client Execution

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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