CVE-2026-16495 Cross-site scripting in Countdown Timer – Widget Countdown
Authenticated contributors can inject arbitrary scripts via the redirect_url shortcode attribute, leading to stored XSS execution on victim pages.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-16495?
CVE-2026-16495 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in wpdevart Countdown Timer – Widget Countdown, published on 14 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The Countdown Timer – Widget Countdown plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'redirect_url' Shortcode Attribute in all versions up to, and including, 3.0.1 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.
Weakness: CWE-79
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16495?
How do I fix CVE-2026-16495?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-16495 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Escape output for the context it lands in and set a strict Content Security Policy. Upgrading the affected component is the real fix. More about Cross-site scripting.
Is CVE-2026-16495 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16495 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-c8vg-gvp3-9c47.