CVE-2026-19985

What it is

The Relevanssi – A Better Search plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting in versions up to, and including, 4.28.1 via the 's', 'post_types', and 'orderby' request parameters. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in the relevanssi_debug_array() function in lib/debug.php, which dumps user-supplied query variables through print_r() inside a <pre> block without HTML escaping. The debug path is enabled by supplying the relevanssi_debug=on request parameter when the administrator has previously enabled the 'Debugging mode' setting; the gate itself is a configuration check with no capability, nonce, or logged-in check (the vendor explicitly suppresses nonce verification on that line). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that execute if they can successfully trick a user into performing an action such as clicking on a specially crafted link.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network without logging in, but needs a user to act. Limited direct impact.

Exploit odds

0.5% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

No patch or advisory is linked yet. Look at mitigations or restrict exposure.

Timeline

1. 2026-09-11 04:17 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-09-11 15:17 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Details

Published

2026-09-11 04:17 UTC

Last modified

2026-09-11 15:17 UTC

Exploit probability

0.5% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-79 · Cross-site scripting

Record status

Deferred

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 6.1

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

Required

Scope

Changed

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

None