CVE-2026-96561: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability
HIGHCVE-2026-96561 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.2) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.
CVE-2026-96561 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 7.2
The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).
How to Fix CVE-2026-96561
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
mvn dependency:treeHow to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-96561, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:
mvn dependency:treeAnalyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.
Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.
Technical Details
Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.
Source Advisory Statement
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-96561?
Which Software versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2026-96561?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-96561?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-96561?
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-96561?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-h282-rvgq-85qj",
"modified" : "2026-10-01T06:31:23Z",
"published" : "2026-10-01T06:31:23Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-96561" ],
"details" : "The AI Engine – The Chatbot, AI Framework & MCP for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting in versions up to, and including, 3.8.0 This is due to a chain of missing input neutralization and output escaping across the /mwai-ui/v1/chats/submit REST endpoint, the PHP error-log parser (MeowKit_MWAI_Helpers::php_error_logs), the Advisor task (Meow_MWAI_Modules_Advisor::run_advisor), and the Advisor dashboard widget (advisor_metabox): the server-parameter denylist in chat_submit strips only exact key names such as 'model' while convert_keys() later canonicalizes 'model_' back to 'model', allowing an unauthenticated caller to place an attacker-controlled string (including CR/LF) into $query->model; final_checks() throws an Exception whose message embeds that raw string, and the non-streaming, non-admin catch branch writes it to the PHP error log unmodified — creating a forged log line that the plugin's own parser subsequently returns as recent PHP-error content; run_advisor() then appends that content verbatim to the AI prompt (indirect prompt injection — CWE-1427), the returned JSON is stored in the mwai_advisor_data option with no schema validation or HTML sanitization, and advisor_metabox() concatenates the resulting 'title' and 'description' values directly into the WordPress dashboard widget without esc_html(), wp_kses(), or equivalent escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever an administrator accesses the WordPress dashboard.",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
} ],
"affected" : [ ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96561"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.8.0/classes/engines/core.php#L533"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.8.0/classes/modules/advisor.php#L156"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.8.0/classes/modules/advisor.php#L162"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.8.0/classes/modules/advisor.php#L216"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.8.0/classes/modules/chatbot.php#L122"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.8.0/classes/modules/chatbot.php#L299"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.8.0/classes/modules/chatbot.php#L597"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.8.0/classes/query/base.php#L360"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.8.0/classes/rest.php#L464"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ai-engine/tags/3.8.0/common/helpers.php#L251"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?old_path=%2Fai-engine%2Ftags%2F3.8.0&new_path=%2Fai-engine%2Ftags%2F3.8.1"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/910e51da-6ee2-45d5-837b-7fea80f79390?source=cve"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
"severity" : "HIGH",
"github_reviewed" : false,
"github_reviewed_at" : null,
"nvd_published_at" : "2026-10-01T04:18:22Z"
}
}