---
id: "CVE-2026-116615"
page: "https://infrastack.ai/live/CVE-2026-116615"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-116615"]
title: "Widget Options WordPress plugin: logic injection lets authors run PHP"
severity: "high"
cvss: 8.8
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "package"
products: [{"name": "Widget Options", "fixed": [], "affected": "", "ecosystem": "vendor"}]
ecosystems: ["vendor"]
tags: ["package", "self-hosted", "widget-options", "wordpress", "wordpress-plugin"]
not_affected_if: ["no-author-accounts", "plugin-not-installed"]
published_at: "2026-11-13T10:17:25+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-11-13T10:47:10+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-11-13T10:49:16+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-116615", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-13T10:47:10+00:00"}]
exploit_sources: []
---

# Widget Options WordPress plugin: logic injection lets authors run PHP

Link for people: https://infrastack.ai/live/CVE-2026-116615 (this .md is for agents)

The Widget Options plugin for WordPress, in all versions up to and including 4.2.6.1, lets a user with Author access inject PHP expressions through the post_content parameter. The injected code runs on every front-end page view, can read site configuration such as the admin email and user and post metadata, and can run for unauthenticated visitors when a contributor's post is published by an administrator.

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

## Affected

- vendor:Widget Options affected range not listed fixed no fixed version listed

## How to check

- Check the installed Widget Options version under Plugins in the WordPress admin; versions `4.2.6.1` and earlier are affected.
- Check whether any contributor or author posts were published by an administrator or editor after a contributor submitted them, since that path also exposes visitors.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-13T10:47:10+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-116615

## From the sources

The Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Code Injection in all versions up to, and including, 4.2.6.1 via the `post_content` parameter. This is due to asymmetric parsing between the save-time strip filter (`widgetopts_strip_logic_from_blocks()`) and the render-time parser (`blockopts_filter_before_display()`): embedding an inner `<!--start_widgetopts` literal inside a JSON key causes the write-side `json_decode` to see a non-`class` key and skip stripping — persisting the payload verbatim to the database — while the render-side `str_replace` reconstitutes the key to `class`, feeding the attacker-controlled `logic` value directly into `@eval`. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Author-level access and above, to inject PHP expressions that execute on every front-end page view, enabling boolean-oracle exfiltration of WordPress site configuration data — including admin email address, default role, and arbitrary `get_option`, `get_user_meta`, and `get_post_meta` values — via the plugin's allowlisted-function sandbox, which escalates to unrestricted code execution if any installed plugin extends the `widgetopts_allowed_php_functions` filter. Contributors can also exploit this vulnerability when their submitted post is later published by an administrator; notably, the injected payload executes for all site visitors, including unauthenticated users, because a trust-flag mechanism introduced in version 4.2.6 causes `widgetopts_safe_eval_trusted()` to bypass its non-admin short-circuit at every legacy render callsite. Exploitation by attackers with contributor-level access and above requires that an administrator (or editor) later publishes the contributor's submission. On a default installation, where that is not configured, the vulnerability requires attackers with author-level access and above.

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