High severity · published Apr 11, 2026
CVE-2026-5217
Optimole <= 4.2.2 - Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Srcset Descriptor Parameter
7.2
CVSS
0.4%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
The Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting in all versions up to, and including, 4.2.2. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on the user-supplied 's' parameter (srcset descriptor) in the unauthenticated /wp-json/optimole/v1/optimizations REST endpoint. The endpoint validates requests using an HMAC signature and timestamp, but these values are exposed directly in the frontend HTML making them accessible to any visitor. The plugin uses sanitize_text_field() on the descriptor value of rest.php, which strips HTML tags but does not escape double quotes. The poisoned descriptor is then stored via transients (backed by the WordPress options table) and later retrieved and injected verbatim into the srcset attribute of tag_replacer.php without proper escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts into pages that will execute whenever a user accesses the injected page.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None
Scope
Changed
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.4% · higher than 38% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
OO
Optimole – Optimize Images in Real Time · optimole
through 4.2.2 · source: vendor
Affected product
OO
Optimole – Optimize Images in Real Time
optimole
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-5217
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-5217
plugins.trac.wordpress.org
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/optimole-wp/tags/4.2.1/inc/rest.php#L1008
plugins.trac.wordpress.org
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/optimole-wp/tags/4.2.1/inc/rest.php#L159
plugins.trac.wordpress.org
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/optimole-wp/tags/4.2.1/inc/tag_replacer.php#L526
plugins.trac.wordpress.org
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/optimole-wp/trunk/inc/rest.php#L1008
plugins.trac.wordpress.org
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/optimole-wp/trunk/inc/rest.php#L159
plugins.trac.wordpress.org
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/optimole-wp/trunk/inc/tag_replacer.php#L526
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