CVE-2026-17506 Independent Analytics <= 2.15.0 - Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting

Q: What is CVE-2026-17506?

CVE-2026-17506 is a high-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in bensibley Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin, published on 5 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

Q: Is CVE-2026-17506 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-17506 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2026-17506?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-17506 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

High 7.2 Published 5 Aug 2026 Updated 5 Aug 2026

Unauthenticated attackers can inject arbitrary web scripts via the 404 tracking parameter, leading to stored XSS execution in WordPress admin pages.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Not needed
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2026-17506?

CVE-2026-17506 is a high-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in bensibley Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin, published on 5 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

Official description

The Independent Analytics plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 404 not_found_url tracking parameter in versions up to, and including, 2.15.0. This is due to the get_cell_content() function applying urldecode() after esc_url() when rendering the URL column for 404 entries — a sequence that allows percent-encoded HTML to pass URL validation and then be reconstructed as raw markup, which wp_kses_post() does not strip because it retains img elements and data-* attributes, and because the public REST endpoint /iawp/search accepts unauthenticated requests as long as they carry a signature that is itself embedded in public page HTML. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers 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-2026-17506?

How do I fix CVE-2026-17506?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-17506 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-2026-17506 being exploited?