# Page Builder by SiteOrigin <= 2.36.1 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'panels_data' Post Meta

- **ID:** WPSEC-2026-0433
- **Plugin:** Page Builder by SiteOrigin (`siteorigin-panels`), https://wordpress.org/plugins/siteorigin-panels/
- **Affected versions:** all versions before 2.37.0
- **Fixed in:** 2.37.0 (Update to 2.37.0 or later.)
- **Severity:** Medium 6.4 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N)
- **Weakness:** CWE-79
- **Usage among sites WPSec scans:** plugin High, affected versions High (as of 2026-10-05)
- **Attack surface analysis:** https://attacksurface.wpsec.com/plugin/siteorigin-panels
- **Fix released:** 2026-10-04
- **Published:** 2026-10-05
- **URL:** https://wpsec.com/vuln/WPSEC-2026-0433/

## Description

The Page Builder by SiteOrigin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'panels_data' post meta in all versions up to, and including, 2.36.1 due to the meta key not being protected from direct writes through core meta routes such as the Custom Fields box or XML-RPC, which bypasses the plugin's widget sanitization. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts into page layouts that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.

## References

- https://wpsec.com/vuln/WPSEC-2026-0433/
- https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/siteorigin-panels/tags/2.37.0/
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/siteorigin-panels/

Source: WPSec, https://wpsec.com/vuln/WPSEC-2026-0433/

License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Free to use, share and adapt, also commercially, if you credit WPSec and link to this advisory.