CVE-2026-3853 Cross-site scripting in Divi
Authenticated attackers can inject arbitrary scripts via the Video Slider shortcode, executing code when users hover over thumbnails.
- 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-2026-3853?
CVE-2026-3853 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Elegant Themes Divi, published on 5 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The Divi theme for WordPress is vulnerable to DOM-Based Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the `image_src` attribute of the `et_pb_video_slider_item` shortcode in all versions up to, and including, 4.27.6. This is due to the `image_src` field not being included in the `$url_options` whitelist (which only contains `url`, `button_link`, `button_url`), so it never receives `esc_url_raw()` at save time. On the server side, the value is rendered into a `data-image` HTML attribute using `esc_attr()`, which encodes double quotes as `"`. However, the client-side JavaScript carousel code in `custom.unified.js` reads this attribute using jQuery's `.data('image')`, which returns the browser-decoded value (with `"` decoded back to `"`). The decoded value is then concatenated directly into an HTML string and injected into the DOM via `jQuery.after()` without re-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 hovers over the carousel thumbnail.
Weakness: CWE-79
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-3853?
How do I fix CVE-2026-3853?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-3853 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-2026-3853 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-3853 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-qpr5-j4j4-r5pg.