Categories Images: Cross-site scripting
Categories Images is affected by cross-site scripting. Exploitation requires at least contributor-level access. Injected script can execute in the affected site's origin when the vulnerable output is viewed. The published affected range is <= 3.3.1.
- Component
- Categories Images
- Plugin slug
categories-images- Affected
- <= 3.3.1
- Safe version
> 3.3.1- Published
- Apr 18, 2026
This CVE was published Apr 18, 2026 and is one of 2 known issues for this plugin.
Update, patch or deactivate.
Update Categories Images to a release after 3.3.1, or disable and remove it until a fixed version is available.
A safe version is available, so updating to that version or later is the preferred remediation. If an immediate update is not practical, consider a targeted application patch or temporarily restricting the affected functionality.
Deactivate only when warranted by your risk profile, or when advised by your hosting provider in the limited circumstances where the vulnerability cannot otherwise be mitigated. If you’re unsure which action is appropriate, contact Fused or your hosting provider for guidance.
Technical description
The Categories Images plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting in versions up to, and including, 3.3.1, via the 'z_taxonomy_image' shortcode. This is due to the shortcode rendering path passing attacker-controlled class input into a fallback image builder that concatenates HTML attributes without proper escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts that execute when users interact with the injected frontend page via the 'class' shortcode attribute.
CVE / CNA vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N