What is CVE-2026-64638?

CVE-2026-64638 is WordPress is vulnerable to a pre-auth reflected XSS vulnerability on the login screen. The supplied enrichment data classifies it as Cross-site Scripting mapped to CWE-79 Cross-site Scripting.

Which versions are affected?

Affected product and version evidence is listed in the product table above. Current public advisories should be checked for exact version scope before patch targeting is finalized.

Is there active exploitation?

Exploitation is reported, but no independent confirmation is available in the sources we have. If exploitation is not confirmed from current sources, teams should document that status and continue monitoring KEV, vendor, and telemetry updates.

No. CVE-2026-64638 is not listed in CISA KEV in the supplied enrichment data. KEV status should be monitored because it can change after initial disclosure or after exploitation becomes publicly confirmed.

Is there a public exploit?

42 public PoC repositories reported; 5 marked weaponized in current dataset. Public exploit or PoC availability should raise triage priority, especially for exposed or business-critical systems.

How can defenders detect it?

Start with web/proxy/WAF logs, application logs, network IDS/IPS where available. Look for vulnerability-class behavior, product errors, suspicious authentication events, exploit probes, and abnormal process activity based only on evidence that applies to the affected product.

How should teams prioritize it?

Prioritize CVE-2026-64638 using CVSS 8.9, EPSS 31%, KEV status, public PoC status, and asset exposure. Internet-facing, privileged, or business-critical deployments should be handled first.

Are workarounds available?

The supplied mitigation guidance says to apply vendor patches and restrict external exposure until fixed. Fixed-version evidence is listed in the mitigation section above.

Which threat actors are linked publicly?

Publicly linked actor or ransomware signals in the supplied enrichment data: Kimsuky (), APT37 (), UNC6671 (). Do not attribute exploitation to a threat actor unless the source evidence explicitly supports that linkage.

What should be done in the next 24 hours?

Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations. Prioritize based on EPSS, PoC availability, and external exposure. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class. Open remediation tickets with affected assets, owners, evidence status, and detection coverage so decisions are traceable.

highCross-site Scriptingpublic exploit

CVE-2026-64638

CVE-2026-64638 — WordPress is vulnerable to a pre-auth reflected XSS vulnerability on the login screen

WordPress is vulnerable to a pre-auth reflected XSS vulnerability on the login screen. Via a specially crafted malicious third-party website hosted by an attacker, it is possible for this to be escalated to an RCE vulnerability with conditions outside of the attackers control. This requires successful social engineering of and explicit interaction by the target victim. This issue affects all versions of WordPress. Version 7.0.3 has been released, containing a fix for the vulnerability, and as a courtesy to users on older branches the fix has been backported to all branches back to 4.7. Discovered and responsibly disclosed by [the team at pwn.ai](https://pwn.ai/).

Published Aug 7, 2026Updated Aug 7, 2026Sources: NVD, WordPress (CNA), SOCRadar CTI

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the scoring sources call it.

Exploitation

Reported

not confirmed by CISA

EPSS

31%

ahead of 98% of scored CVEs

Affects

WordPress

CVSS base

8.9

high

CISA SSVC assessment

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses · SSVC 2.0.3. A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

CISA

Exploitation

None

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

can an attacker script all four kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Total

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

The vendor's own words where we have them.

Upgrade WordPress to a fixed release (0 to < 7.0.3). Apply vendor patches per advisory and restrict external exposure of the affected component until patched.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record's own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found.

Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations.
Prioritize based on EPSS, PoC availability, and external exposure.
Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and version as the advisories word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status
WordPress	WordPress	0 to < 7.0.3	Patched

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Scope

Attack Complexity

High

Attack Vector

Network

Privileges Req

None

User Interaction

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Source
8.9	CVSS 4.0	high	—	—	WordPress (CNA)

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H

What this weakness leads to

MITRE's own consequences and mitigations for the weakness class — the authority's wording, not guidance derived from the CVSS vector.

MITRE

CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

Bypass Protection Mechanism
Read Application Data
Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands

Mitigation: Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. Examples of libraries and frameworks that make it easier to generate properly encoded output include Microsoft's Anti-XSS library, the OWASP ESAPI Encoding module, and Apache Wicket.

Weakness & attack patterns

CWE-79Cross-site Scripting

Attack patterns reported against this CVE. The ATT&CK techniques below are inferred from its weakness class.

CAPEC-85 · AJAX FingerprintingCAPEC-591 · Reflected XSSCAPEC-63 · Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)CAPEC-209 · XSS Using MIME Type MismatchCAPEC-592 · Stored XSSCAPEC-588 · DOM-Based XSS

Public exploit

Capability, not use: code existing is a different claim from anyone running it.

Repositories

5 of the 5 sampled are weaponized

Exploit entries

Exploit-DB and CTI exploit indexes

Social mentions

Posts naming this CVE. Attention, not evidence of exploitation — it spikes on disclosure and decays whether or not anything is exploited.

35 more posts on this CVEShowing 5 of 40 · Who is discussing this CVE, and how loudlyUnlock free

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not rules we have tested.

Search application, proxy, and WAF logs for requests touching //pwn.ai/).
Prioritize edge telemetry for network-reachable WordPress.
Monitor for scanner or exploit-pattern traffic after 42 public PoC repositories were reported.

web/proxy/WAF logsapplication logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Groups associated with this CVE

Groups reported in connection with this vulnerability. A reported association, not a confirmed observation of that group using it — and not scoped to any sector or campaign.

KimsukyAPT37UNC6671

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first — with the readings a source repeats on a schedule counted underneath rather than listed.

2026
Cve is exploited xAL6/cve-2026-64638-banner-poc
Aug 25, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
Cve is exploited g0d150ne/XSS2Shell
Aug 11, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
Cve is exploited 0xlipon/xss2shell
Aug 10, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
Cve is exploited eh-amish/CVE-2026-64638-XSS-to-Shell-PoC
Aug 10, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
Cve is exploited Boreas37/CVE-2026-64638-PoC-XSS2Shell-
Aug 9, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
Cve is exploited jendmaoul/XSS2Shell-CVE-2026-64638
Aug 9, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
Added · CVSS 3.1 8.9 (AV:N)
Aug 7, 2026 · NVD
Initial · CVE published
Aug 7, 2026 · NVD

Source activity

Readings a source repeats on a schedule, counted rather than listed.

12×SVRS was changedAug 9, 2026 – Aug 27, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
11×TweetsAug 10, 2026 – Aug 29, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
9×Github ReposAug 9, 2026 – Aug 24, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
2×TelegramAug 13, 2026 – Aug 29, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI

References

2 on the record

hackerone.com/reports/3877102
Vendor Advisory
wordpress.org/news/2026/08/wordpress-7-0-3-release/
Vendor Advisory, NIST

Coverage

14 stories from the feeds we poll

9 more reports on this CVEShowing 5 of 14 · Vendor research and security press coverageUnlock free

Elsewhere on this site

WordPressevery CVE for this vendor
Cross-site Scriptingsame class
CWE-79other pages naming this weakness

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record1

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-64638 is WordPress is vulnerable to a pre-auth reflected XSS vulnerability on the login screen, a high vulnerability affecting WordPress from WordPress. The current evidence does not list it in CISA KEV, and the exploit status is: Exploitation is reported, but no independent confirmation is available in the sources we have. Public exploit evidence is: 42 public PoC repositories reported; 5 marked weaponized in current dataset. The affected-version evidence is listed in the key facts and affected products tables. Defenders should first verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run those versions, then apply vendor patches or mitigations, restrict reachable attack surface, and preserve logs for detection review. CVSS 8.9 describes technical severity, while EPSS 31% helps estimate near-term exploit likelihood; neither replaces asset context. Unknown fields should remain explicit in tickets, and threat actor, IOC, victimology, or payload claims should not be added unless a cited source supports them. Monitor CISA KEV, vendor advisories, NVD changes, public PoC repositories, and internal telemetry for update triggers.