# CVE-2022-2658: WP Spell Check < 9.13 - Admin+ Stored Cross-Site Scripting

> Admins can inject malicious scripts via ignored words in WP Spell Check, enabling stored XSS attacks even in restricted multisite environments.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Jan 2023
- **Updated:** 4 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3p9v-8h44-8rrr

## What is CVE-2022-2658?

CVE-2022-2658 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Unknown WP Spell Check, published on 16 Jan 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The WP Spell Check WordPress plugin before 9.13 does not escape ignored words, which could allow high privilege users such as admin to perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting attacks even when the unfiltered_html capability is disallowed (for example in multisite setup)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-2658?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wpspellcheck Wpspellcheck.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-2658?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-2658 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-2658 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-2658 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in Unknown WP Spell Check

- [CVE-2019-6027](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6027/): Cross-site request forgery in WP Spell Check (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-22143](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-22143/): WordPress WP Spell Check Plugin <= 9.17 is vulnerable to Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (medium 5.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-2658 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-2658 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Unknown WP Spell Check, published on 16 Jan 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-2658 exists.

Affected product: Unknown WP Spell Check. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2658/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2658/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-2658
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-2658
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-2658

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2658/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.