---
id: "CVE-2026-116563"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-116563"]
title: "NextGEN Gallery WordPress plugin: stored XSS via comment parameter"
severity: "medium"
cvss: 5.4
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "package"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["nextgen-gallery", "package", "self-hosted", "wordpress"]
not_affected_if: ["comments-moderated", "default-config", "lightbox-not-shutter"]
published_at: "2026-10-31T06:16:32+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-31T06:33:50+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-31T06:34:19+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-116563", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-31T06:33:50+00:00"}]
---

# NextGEN Gallery WordPress plugin: stored XSS via comment parameter

Versions up to and including 4.5.4 of the NextGEN Gallery WordPress plugin fail to sanitize the 'comment' parameter, enabling stored DOM-based cross-site scripting. An unauthenticated attacker can plant a script that runs in the browser of visitors who open the affected page, once an administrator approves the comment.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- Check the installed version of the plugin in the WordPress admin plugin list, or `wp plugin get nextgen-gallery --field=version` if WP-CLI is available.
- Check whether the active lightbox is Shutter or Shutter Reloaded in the NextGEN Gallery settings.

## Fix

- NextGEN Gallery: unknown (sources do not state a fixed version).

## Timeline

- 2026-10-31T06:33:50+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-116563

## From the sources

The Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored DOM-Based Cross-Site Scripting via the 'comment' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 4.5.4 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. Exploitation requires the site to have Shutter or Shutter Reloaded selected as the active lightbox, and the injected comment must be approved through WordPress's standard moderation workflow before the payload is rendered to other visitors.

---

_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_