# Categories Images <= 3.3.3 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'z_taxonomy_image' Shortcode

- **ID:** WPSEC-2026-0992
- **Plugin:** Categories Images (`categories-images`), https://wordpress.org/plugins/categories-images/
- **Affected versions:** from 3.3.0 before 3.3.4
- **Fixed in:** 3.3.4 (Update to 3.3.4 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 Medium, affected versions Medium (as of 2026-10-15)
- **Attack surface analysis:** https://attacksurface.wpsec.com/plugin/categories-images
- **Fix released:** 2026-10-14
- **Published:** 2026-10-15
- **URL:** https://wpsec.com/vuln/WPSEC-2026-0992/

## Description

The Categories Images plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'default' attribute of the 'z_taxonomy_image' shortcode in versions 3.3.0 up to, and including, 3.3.3, due to insufficient output escaping. When format="url" is used and the term has no image, the shortcode returns the 'default' attribute value as-is. 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.

## References

- https://wpsec.com/vuln/WPSEC-2026-0992/
- https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/categories-images/tags/3.3.4/
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/categories-images/

Source: WPSec, https://wpsec.com/vuln/WPSEC-2026-0992/

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.