CVE-2026-22357
Published: 20 February 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-22357 is a high-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 7.1 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 14.4th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-15 (Information Output Filtering).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-22357 is an Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation vulnerability, classified as Reflected Cross-site Scripting (XSS) under CWE-79, in the Link Whisper Free WordPress plugin by Spencer Haws. The issue affects all versions of the plugin from n/a through 0.9.2 inclusive.
The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L), indicating network accessibility, low attack complexity, no required privileges, and user interaction such as clicking a malicious link. Remote attackers can exploit it to inject and execute arbitrary scripts in the victim's browser within the context of the affected site, potentially compromising low levels of confidentiality, integrity, and availability, such as session hijacking or data theft for authenticated users.
The Patchstack advisory provides further details on this WordPress plugin vulnerability at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Plugin/link-whisper/vulnerability/wordpress-link-whisper-free-plugin-0-9-0-reflected-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability?_s_id=cve.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-7583
Vulnerability details
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Spencer Haws Link Whisper Free link-whisper allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Link Whisper Free: from n/a through <= 0.9.2.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Reflected XSS in public-facing WordPress plugin directly enables exploitation of the web application (T1190) to execute arbitrary JavaScript (T1059.007) in victim browsers.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly requires validation and neutralization of untrusted input before it is used in web page generation, blocking the reflected XSS payload at its source.
Requires filtering or encoding of information output to users, preventing arbitrary script execution from reflected parameters in the Link Whisper plugin.
Provides malicious-code detection and blocking mechanisms that can identify and stop reflected XSS attempts before script execution occurs in the browser.