CVE-2026-42652

High

Published: 29 April 2026

Published

29 April 2026

Modified

29 April 2026

KEV Added

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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 12.2th percentile

Risk Priority 14 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2026-42652 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 12.2th 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-2026-42652 is an Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation vulnerability, classified as Reflected Cross-site Scripting (XSS) under CWE-79, in the wpeverest User Registration plugin (user-registration) for WordPress. This issue affects all versions of the plugin from n/a through 5.1.5.

An unauthenticated attacker (PR:N) with network access (AV:N) can exploit the vulnerability by crafting malicious input that is reflected in web page generation. Exploitation requires low complexity (AC:L) and user interaction (UI:R), such as a victim clicking a malicious link. Successful exploitation changes the scope (S:C) and enables low-impact confidentiality (C:L), integrity (I:L), and availability (A:L) effects in the victim's browser, such as session hijacking or data theft, with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1.

The Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Plugin/user-registration/vulnerability/wordpress-user-registration-plugin-5-1-5-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability?_s_id=cve provides details on the Cross-site Scripting vulnerability in the WordPress User Registration plugin version 5.1.5.

EU & UK References

🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-26219

Vulnerability details

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in wpeverest User Registration user-registration allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects User Registration: from n/a through <= 5.1.5.

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 →

T1566.002 Spearphishing Link Initial Access

Adversaries may send spearphishing emails with a malicious link in an attempt to gain access to victim systems.

attack.mitre.org →

Why these techniques?

Reflected XSS vulnerability in public-facing WordPress plugin directly enables exploitation of the web application (T1190) and facilitates delivery via crafted malicious links to victims (T1566.002).

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