# Ajax Search Lite <= 4.14.5 - Unauthenticated CSV Injection via Search Statistics Export

- **ID:** WPSEC-2026-0996
- **Plugin:** Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter (`ajax-search-lite`), https://wordpress.org/plugins/ajax-search-lite/
- **Affected versions:** from 4.14.0 before 4.14.6
- **Fixed in:** 4.14.6 (Update to 4.14.6 or later.)
- **Severity:** Medium 4.2 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N)
- **Weakness:** CWE-1236
- **Usage among sites WPSec scans:** plugin High, affected versions Medium (as of 2026-10-15)
- **Attack surface analysis:** https://attacksurface.wpsec.com/plugin/ajax-search-lite
- **Fix released:** 2026-10-14
- **Published:** 2026-10-15
- **URL:** https://wpsec.com/vuln/WPSEC-2026-0996/

## Description

The Ajax Search Lite plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to CSV Injection via the search statistics export in all versions up to, and including, 4.14.5, due to search phrases, referers and languages being written to the exported CSV file without neutralizing formula characters. The phrases are recorded through the public statistics/searches/add REST route. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to embed formulas that run on the computer of an administrator who exports the statistics and opens the file in a spreadsheet application. Search statistics must be enabled (disabled by default).

## References

- https://wpsec.com/vuln/WPSEC-2026-0996/
- https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/ajax-search-lite/tags/4.14.6/
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/ajax-search-lite/

Source: WPSec, https://wpsec.com/vuln/WPSEC-2026-0996/

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.