Instant Popup Builder: A security weakness
Instant Popup Builder is affected by a security weakness. The vulnerable path is reachable without authentication. The resulting impact depends on how the affected component exposes the vulnerable operation.
- Component
- Instant Popup Builder
- Plugin slug
instant-popup-builder- Affected
- See vendor advisory
- Safe version
- See mitigation notes
- Published
- Mar 19, 2026
- Weakness
- CWE-862 — Missing Authorization
This CVE was published Mar 19, 2026 and is one of 1 known issue for this plugin.
Update, patch or deactivate.
Update Instant Popup Builder to a release outside the affected range, or disable and remove it until a fixed version is available.
No confirmed safe version is listed. Consider a vendor-supported patch or temporarily restricting the affected functionality while you assess the risk.
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 Instant Popup Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Unauthenticated Arbitrary Shortcode Execution in all versions up to and including 1.1.7. This is due to the handle_email_verification_page() function constructing a shortcode string from user-supplied GET parameters (token, email) and passing it to do_shortcode() without properly sanitizing square bracket characters, combined with missing authorization checks on the init hook. While sanitize_text_field() and esc_attr() are applied, neither function strips or escapes square bracket characters ([ and ]). WordPress's shortcode regex uses [^\]\/]* to match content inside shortcode tags, meaning a ] character in the token value prematurely closes the shortcode tag. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject and execute arbitrary registered shortcodes by crafting a malicious token parameter containing ] followed by arbitrary shortcode syntax.
CVE / CNA vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Primary and upstream sources
- NVD record for CVE-2026-3475
- WordPress upstream reference plugins.trac.wordpress.org
- WordPress upstream reference plugins.trac.wordpress.org
- WordPress upstream reference plugins.trac.wordpress.org
- WordPress upstream reference plugins.trac.wordpress.org
- WordPress upstream reference plugins.trac.wordpress.org
- Wordfence advisory wordfence.com