{"id":"CVE-2019-9978","published":"2019-03-24T15:29:00Z","modified":"2026-06-17T02:44:58Z","title":"WordPress Social Warfare Plugin Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerability","vendor":"WordPress","product":"Social Warfare Plugin","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"The social-warfare plugin before 3.5.3 for WordPress has stored XSS via the wp-admin/admin-post.php?swp_debug=load_options swp_url parameter, as exploited in the wild in March 2019. This affects Social Warfare and Social Warfare Pro.","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"The Social Warfare plugin for WordPress, in versions before 3.5.3 and affecting both Social Warfare and Social Warfare Pro, contains a stored cross-site scripting flaw in its debug handling of the swp_url parameter at wp-admin/admin-post.php. An attacker with network access can inject script that is stored and later executed in a user's browser, provided a user interacts with the affected content (UI:R) and the attack is reached without authentication (PR:N) and with low attack complexity.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-31T05:10:35Z"},"cvss":{"score":6.1,"severity":"MEDIUM","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.72946,"percentile":0.99451,"date":"2026-10-30","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2021-11-03","dueDate":"2022-05-03","ransomware":false,"requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","notes":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-9978","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2019-03-24","exploitedFirstSeen":"2019-03-24","ransomware":false,"evidence":[{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-9978","date":"2019-03-24"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-9978","date":"2019-03-24"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2021-11-03"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2023-11-26&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2019-9978","date":"2023-11-26"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2023-11-27&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2019-9978","date":"2023-11-27"},{"url":"https://thedfirreport.com/2023/12/18/lets-opendir-some-presents-an-analysis-of-a-persistent-actors-activity/","date":"2023-12-18"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2024-01-22&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2019-9978","date":"2024-01-22"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2024-01-23&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2019-9978","date":"2024-01-23"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2024-01-24&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2019-9978","date":"2024-01-24"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2024-01-25&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2019-9978","date":"2024-01-25"}],"evidenceTotal":626,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 19, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad4dda174e5797d0bd238b7","created":"2026-10-18"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 18, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad38c22e1848f8189d1c121","created":"2026-10-17"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-79","name":"Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation"}],"references":[{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152722/Wordpress-Social-Warfare-Remote-Code-Execution.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/163680/WordPress-Social-Warfare-3.5.2-Remote-Code-Execution.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"https://blog.sucuri.net/2019/03/zero-day-stored-xss-in-social-warfare.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://twitter.com/warfareplugins/status/1108852747099652099","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://wordpress.org/plugins/social-warfare/#developers","tags":["Product"]},{"url":"https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9238","tags":["Broken Link","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cybersecurity-help.cz/vdb/SB2019032105","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46794/","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"https://www.pluginvulnerabilities.com/2019/03/21/full-disclosure-of-settings-change-persistent-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability-in-social-warfare/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2019/03/unpatched-zero-day-vulnerability-in-social-warfare-plugin-exploited-in-the-wild/","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152722/Wordpress-Social-Warfare-Remote-Code-Execution.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/163680/WordPress-Social-Warfare-3.5.2-Remote-Code-Execution.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Jun/1","tags":["Mailing List"]},{"url":"https://blog.sucuri.net/2019/03/zero-day-stored-xss-in-social-warfare.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://twitter.com/warfareplugins/status/1108852747099652099","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://wordpress.org/plugins/social-warfare/#developers","tags":["Product"]},{"url":"https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9238","tags":["Broken Link","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cybersecurity-help.cz/vdb/SB2019032105","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46794/","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"https://www.pluginvulnerabilities.com/2019/03/21/full-disclosure-of-settings-change-persistent-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability-in-social-warfare/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2019/03/unpatched-zero-day-vulnerability-in-social-warfare-plugin-exploited-in-the-wild/","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-9978","tags":["US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1055","name":"Process Injection","tactics":["privilege-escalation","stealth"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-cve","bases":["ctid-cve"],"basisDetail":"CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1)","mappingType":"uncategorized","evidence":[],"confidence":"low","confidenceNote":"CTID attack_to_cve Phase 1 \"Uncategorized\" mapping (not staged by impact)"},{"id":"T1189","name":"Drive-by Compromise","tactics":["initial-access"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-cve","bases":["ctid-cve","ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1); claude-haiku-5-5: stored XSS delivered via crafted link to user","mappingType":"uncategorized","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"has stored XSS via the wp-admin/admin-post.php?swp_debug=load_options swp_url parameter","start":53,"end":140}],"confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"},{"id":"T1059","name":"Command and Scripting Interpreter","tactics":["execution"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: injected script executes in victim browser","mappingType":"primary_impact","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"has stored XSS via the wp-admin/admin-post.php?swp_debug=load_options swp_url parameter","start":53,"end":140}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"}],"reports":[],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2019-19332","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2019-19332","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2021-11-03","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[{"id":46794,"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46794","title":"WordPress Plugin Social Warfare < 3.5.3 - Remote Code Execution","type":"webapps","platform":"php","date":"2019-05-03","verified":false,"provenance":"source"},{"id":52346,"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/52346","title":"Social Warfare WordPress Plugin 3.5.2 - Remote Code Execution (RCE)","type":"webapps","platform":"multiple","date":"2025-06-26","verified":false,"provenance":"source"}],"exploitSources":{"exploitdb":{"count":2,"earliest":"2019-05-03"},"pocGithub":{"count":16,"skipped":1,"earliest":"2019-03-25","earliestUrl":"https://github.com/mpgn/CVE-2019-9978","repos":[{"name":"hash3liZer/CVE-2019-9978","url":"https://github.com/hash3liZer/CVE-2019-9978","stars":22,"created":"2019-05-03"},{"name":"mpgn/CVE-2019-9978","url":"https://github.com/mpgn/CVE-2019-9978","stars":8,"created":"2019-03-25"},{"name":"KTN1990/CVE-2019-9978","url":"https://github.com/KTN1990/CVE-2019-9978","stars":6,"created":"2019-05-06"},{"name":"grimlockx/CVE-2019-9978","url":"https://github.com/grimlockx/CVE-2019-9978","stars":4,"created":"2023-01-20"},{"name":"yup-Ivan/CVE-2019-9978","url":"https://github.com/yup-Ivan/CVE-2019-9978","stars":4,"created":"2026-01-25"}]},"nuclei":[{"id":"CVE-2019-9978","name":"WordPress Social Warfare <3.5.3 - Cross-Site Scripting","severity":"medium","path":"http/cves/2019/CVE-2019-9978.yaml","url":"https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2019/CVE-2019-9978.yaml"}],"first":{"date":"2019-03-25","source":"PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/mpgn/CVE-2019-9978"},"provenance":"source"},"exploitRefs":["http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152722/Wordpress-Social-Warfare-Remote-Code-Execution.html","http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/163680/WordPress-Social-Warfare-3.5.2-Remote-Code-Execution.html","https://blog.sucuri.net/2019/03/zero-day-stored-xss-in-social-warfare.html","https://www.cybersecurity-help.cz/vdb/SB2019032105","https://www.pluginvulnerabilities.com/2019/03/21/full-disclosure-of-settings-change-persistent-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability-in-social-warfare/","https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46794/"],"flow":[{"stage":"primary","techniques":["T1059"],"provenance":"ai"},{"stage":"related","techniques":["T1189"],"provenance":"source"},{"stage":"related","techniques":["T1055"],"provenance":"source","lowConfidence":true}],"timeline":[{"date":"2019-03-24","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-9978","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2019-03-24","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-9978","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2019-03-25","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: PoC-in-GitHub; later: Exploit-DB 2019-05-03","url":"https://github.com/mpgn/CVE-2019-9978","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2021-11-03","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2021-11-03","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2019-19332","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":1,"firstExploitFrom":"PoC-in-GitHub","daysToKev":955},"priority":{"score":67.2,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":0.0,"detail":"added 2778 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":0.0,"detail":"not known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.89,"detail":"percentile 0.9945"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":0.0,"detail":"0 reports"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"5 NVD references tagged Exploit; 2 Exploit-DB entries; 1 NVD exploit link; 16 PoC-in-GitHub repos; 1 nuclei template"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":4.27,"detail":"base score 6.1"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]}}