CVE-2026-28042
Published: 05 March 2026
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 11.8th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Likely Mitigating ControlsAI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Penetration testing submits XSS payloads to web applications, detecting cross-site scripting flaws for subsequent remediation.
Validates web inputs to reject script-related content that could produce XSS.
Output validation against expected content can reject or sanitize script content in generated web pages, reducing XSS exploitability.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
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.
NVD Description
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.
Deeper analysisAI
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.
Details
- CWE(s)