Vulnerability · Published Mar 20, 2026 · Assigned by Wordfence

CVE-2026-2352Autoptimize <= 3.1.14 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'ao_post_preload' Meta Value

Medium 6.4

In plain English

A medium-severity cross-site scripting in Autoptimize from optimizingmatters. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.3% (higher than 19% of all known vulnerabilities).

Severity (CVSS 3.1)6.4Medium
Exploit odds (30 days)0.3%top 81.4% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

The Autoptimize plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'ao_post_preload' meta value in all versions up to, and including, 3.1.14. This is due to insufficient input sanitization in the `ao_metabox_save()` function and missing output escaping when the value is rendered into a `<link>` tag in `autoptimizeImages.php`. 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, granted the "Image optimization" or "Lazy-load images" setting is enabled in the plugin configuration.

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
optimizingmatters Autoptimize 0 – through 3.1.14

Weakness: CWE-79 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

References