Medium severity · published Oct 16, 2026
CVE-2026-96562
Broken Link Checker <= 2.4.14.1 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Shortcode Execution via parser_callback
6.5
CVSS
0.3%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
The The Broken Link Checker plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.14.1. This is due to the software allowing users to execute an action that does not properly validate a value before running do_shortcode. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary shortcodes. Exploitation requires that a submitted comment containing the shortcode payload in an href or src attribute is approved through the site's normal comment moderation workflow; once approved, the shortcode is executed automatically via WP-Cron without any further attacker interaction.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.3% · higher than 20% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
BL
Broken Link Checker · wpmudev
through 2.4.14.1 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96562
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-96562
plugins.trac.wordpress.org
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/broken-link-checker/tags/2.4.14.1/legacy/includes/containers.php#L298
plugins.trac.wordpress.org
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/broken-link-checker/tags/2.4.14.1/legacy/modules/containers/comment.php#L229
plugins.trac.wordpress.org
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/broken-link-checker/tags/2.4.14.1/legacy/modules/parsers/html_link.php#L72
plugins.trac.wordpress.org
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/broken-link-checker/tags/2.4.14.1/legacy/modules/parsers/image.php#L66
plugins.trac.wordpress.org
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3740705%40broken-link-checker&new=3740705%40broken-link-checker
www.wordfence.com
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/04cc4b99-8c27-4f95-b860-608c01af843b?source=cve
More from Broken Link Checker
7.2
CVE-2026-75528
Broken Link Checker <= 2.4.13 - Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Comment Author URL / Link Log
6.1
CVE-2015-10098
A vulnerability was found in Broken Link Checker Plugin up to 1.10.5 on WordPress
4.8
CVE-2024-25592
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in WPMU DEV Broken Link Checker allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Broken Link…
