📄 Description (English)
The Animate Your Content plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's 'animation-set' shortcode in versions up to, and including, 1.0.0. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes in the shortcode_args_to_html_attrs() function, which concatenates shortcode attribute values directly into double-quoted HTML attributes without calling esc_attr(). 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 accesses an injected page.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
The Animate Your Content WordPress plugin (versions ≤1.0.0) contains a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in its animation-set shortcode that allows authenticated contributors to inject malicious scripts. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input sanitization in the shortcode_args_to_html_attrs() function, enabling persistent script execution when pages are accessed. While requiring contributor-level access, this poses significant risk in multi-user WordPress environments common in Saudi organizations.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: May 28, 2026 16:55
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
Saudi organizations using WordPress for content management—particularly government agencies, educational institutions, healthcare providers, and media companies—face elevated risk. Government entities under NCA oversight and SAMA-regulated financial institutions using WordPress for customer-facing portals are especially vulnerable. The vulnerability allows insider threats (disgruntled contributors) to compromise website integrity, steal credentials, or distribute malware to Saudi users. E-commerce platforms and corporate websites targeting Saudi customers could suffer reputational damage and regulatory scrutiny.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government & Public Administration
Banking & Financial Services
Healthcare & Hospitals
Education & Universities
Media & Publishing
E-Commerce & Retail
Telecommunications
Energy & Utilities
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1059 — Command and Scripting Interpreter (JavaScript execution)
T1190 — Exploit Public-Facing Application (WordPress plugin exploitation)
T1566 — Phishing (malicious links in injected scripts)
T1539 — Steal Web Session Cookie (via XSS payload)
T1056 — Input Capture (credential harvesting via injected forms)
T1195 — Supply Chain Compromise (compromised plugin distribution)
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
6.8
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Audit all WordPress installations using Animate Your Content plugin and identify affected versions (≤1.0.0)
2. Review contributor and author user accounts for suspicious activity and recent shortcode modifications
3. Scan published pages/posts for animation-set shortcodes with suspicious attributes
4. Restrict contributor permissions to only trusted personnel pending patch availability
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Disable the Animate Your Content plugin immediately until patch is released
2. Contact plugin developer for security update timeline
3. Consider alternative animation plugins with active security maintenance
4. When patch becomes available, test in staging environment before production deployment
COMPENSATING CONTROLS:
1. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect/block XSS patterns in shortcode attributes
2. Enable WordPress security plugins (Wordfence, Sucuri) with XSS detection signatures
3. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict inline script execution
4. Enable WordPress revision history and monitor page modifications via audit logs
5. Restrict shortcode usage to administrator-only roles via code modification
DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor for animation-set shortcodes containing: javascript:, onerror=, onload=, onclick=, event handlers
2. Alert on contributor/author role modifications to published content
3. Track database queries modifying post_content with shortcode patterns
4. Monitor for unusual script tags within shortcode attributes in page source
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تدقيق جميع تثبيتات WordPress التي تستخدم مكون Animate Your Content وتحديد الإصدارات المتأثرة (≤1.0.0)
2. مراجعة حسابات المستخدمين من نوع المساهم والمؤلف للنشاط المريب والتعديلات الأخيرة على الاختصارات
3. مسح الصفحات/المنشورات المنشورة بحثاً عن اختصارات animation-set بسمات مريبة
4. تقييد أذونات المساهم للموظفين الموثوقين فقط في انتظار توفر التصحيح
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. تعطيل مكون Animate Your Content فوراً حتى يتم إصدار التصحيح
2. الاتصال بمطور المكون لمعرفة جدول زمني لتحديث الأمان
3. النظر في مكونات الرسوم المتحركة البديلة ذات الصيانة الأمنية النشطة
4. عند توفر التصحيح، اختبره في بيئة التدريج قبل نشره في الإنتاج
الضوابط التعويضية:
1. تنفيذ قواعد جدار حماية تطبيقات الويب (WAF) للكشف عن أنماط XSS وحجبها في سمات الاختصار
2. تفعيل مكونات أمان WordPress (Wordfence, Sucuri) مع توقيعات كشف XSS
3. تنفيذ رؤوس Content Security Policy (CSP) لتقييد تنفيذ النصوص البرمجية المضمنة
4. تفعيل سجل مراجعة WordPress ومراقبة تعديلات الصفحة عبر سجلات التدقيق
5. تقييد استخدام الاختصارات لأدوار المسؤول فقط عبر تعديل الكود
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة اختصارات animation-set التي تحتوي على: javascript:, onerror=, onload=, onclick=, معالجات الأحداث
2. التنبيه على تعديلات دور المساهم/المؤلف للمحتوى المنشور
3. تتبع استعلامات قاعدة البيانات التي تعدل post_content بأنماط الاختصار
4. مراقبة علامات النصوص البرمجية غير العادية ضمن سمات الاختصار في مصدر الصفحة
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.14.2.1 - Information security requirements for supplier relationships (plugin security)
ECC 2024 A.12.6.1 - Management of technical vulnerabilities (XSS vulnerability tracking)
ECC 2024 A.14.2.5 - Addressing information security in supplier agreements (plugin maintenance)
ECC 2024 A.12.2.1 - Secure development policy (input validation and output encoding)
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.BE-3 - Organizational governance (third-party plugin risk management)
SAMA CSF PR.DS-1 - Data security (protection against XSS attacks)
SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 - Access control (contributor permission management)
SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 - Detection and analysis (monitoring for XSS exploitation)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.23 - Information security for supplier relationships
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.22 - Secure development and maintenance
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.23 - Testing of information security
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.24 - Protection of information systems from malware
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 6.5.1 - Injection flaws (XSS is injection vulnerability)
PCI DSS 6.5.7 - Cross-site scripting (XSS)
PCI DSS 6.2 - Security patches and updates
🔗 References & Sources 4
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https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/animate-your-content/trunk/plugin.php#L116
security@wordfence.com
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/animate-your-content/trunk/plugin.php#L135
security@wordfence.com
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/animate-your-content/trunk/plugin.php#L88
security@wordfence.com
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/5d7fd79f-8113-4143-b630-46531...
security@wordfence.com