CVE-2026-4329 - Blackhole Bad Bots Plugin
CVE-2026-4329
The Blackhole for Bad Bots plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the User-Agent HTTP header in all versions up to and including 3.8. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. The plugin uses sanitize_text_field() when capturing bot data (which strips HTML tags but does not escape HTML entities like double quotes), then stores the data via update_option(). When an administrator views the Bad Bots log page, the stored data is output directly into HTML input value attributes (lines 75-83) without esc_attr() and into HTML span content without esc_html(). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts that execute when an administrator views the Blackhole Bad Bots admin page.
CVE-2026-4329
HIGH
CVSS 7.2
Published 2026-03-26
Updated 2026-03-30
AI Risk Elevated (72/100)
Active Exploit: No strong signal
Published Exploit: No public exploit references
Priority: P3 Priority
Severity Band
HIGH
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Affected Components
2
Reference Links
10
AI Risk Engine
Elevated (72/100)
Exploitability
Medium
Active Exploitation
No strong signal
Published Exploit Status
No public exploit references
AI Context
Machine-generated threat intelligence
AI
Updated 6 days ago
AI enriched 6 days ago (2026-04-09 06:08 UTC)
Technical Summary
The Blackhole for Bad Bots plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the User-Agent HTTP header in all versions up to and including 3.8. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. The plugin uses sanitize_text_field() when capturing bot data (which strips HTML tags but does not escape HTML entities like double quotes), then stores the data via update_option(). When an administrator views the Bad Bots log page, the stored data is output directly into…
Potential Impact
Severity is HIGH (CVSS 7.2). Depending on deployment context, affected components may be exposed to unauthorized actions or data integrity risk.
Exploitability Assessment
Exploitability is assessed as Medium based on low-bar exploit prerequisites.
Primary risk drivers: low-bar exploit prerequisites
Mitigation Recommendations
Validate affected product versions, prioritize patching, and monitor references for vendor remediation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, apply compensating controls and limit exposure of vulnerable surfaces.
Detection & Monitoring
Track authentication anomalies, unexpected file writes, and suspicious plugin API activity around affected components.
Business Impact Lens
Prioritize remediation where affected components process customer data, admin sessions, or Internet-exposed workflows.
