Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-28042

High

Published: 05 March 2026

Published
05 March 2026
Modified
22 April 2026
KEV Added
—
Patch
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CVSS Score v3.1 7.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0004 14.4th percentile
Risk Priority 14 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2026-28042 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-2026-28042 is an Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation vulnerability, classified as Reflected Cross-site Scripting (XSS) under CWE-79, in the Astoundify Listify WordPress theme. This issue affects Listify versions from n/a through 3.2.5 and was published on 2026-03-05.

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 by tricking authenticated or unauthenticated users into interacting with crafted input reflected in web pages, enabling arbitrary script execution in the victim's browser context and achieving low impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability with a changed scope.

The Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/listify/vulnerability/wordpress-listify-plugin-3-2-5-reflected-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability?_s_id=cve documents the Reflected XSS vulnerability in the WordPress Listify theme/plugin up to version 3.2.5, providing details for security practitioners to review mitigation guidance.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Astoundify Listify listify allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Listify: from n/a through <= 3.2.5.

CWE(s)
CWE-79

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1204.001 Malicious Link Execution
An adversary may rely upon a user clicking a malicious link in order to gain execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.007 JavaScript Execution
Adversaries may abuse various implementations of JavaScript for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
Why these techniques?

Reflected XSS in public-facing WordPress theme directly enables exploitation of the web app via crafted malicious links that trigger arbitrary JavaScript execution in the victim's browser.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v18.1

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-47140Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-68891Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-69054Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-22714Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-23473Shared CWE-79
CVE-2024-13668Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-25118Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-67918Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-53222Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-28890Shared CWE-79

Affected Assets

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Directly requires validation and neutralization of untrusted input before it is reflected in web page output, addressing the CWE-79 root cause in Listify.

SI-15 Information Output Filtering good match
prevent

Requires filtering of information output to remove or encode potentially malicious script content, preventing reflected XSS execution in the victim's browser.

SI-3 Malicious Code Protection partial match
preventdetect

Provides mechanisms to detect and block malicious code (including script payloads) delivered via network requests or reflected in responses.

References