CVE-2019-20041

Name: CVE-2019-20041
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2019-12-27T08:15:09.683+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

CRITICALCVSS 9.8/10EPSS 4.65%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2019-20041 is a critical-severity vulnerability rated 9.8/10 on the CVSS scale. wp_kses_bad_protocol in wp-includes/kses.php in WordPress before 5.3.1 mishandles the HTML5 colon named entity, allowing attackers to bypass input sanitization, as demonstrated by the javascript&colon; substring.. EPSS estimates a 4.65% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

wp_kses_bad_protocol in wp-includes/kses.php in WordPress before 5.3.1 mishandles the HTML5 colon named entity, allowing attackers to bypass input sanitization, as demonstrated by the javascript&colon; substring.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

9.8/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Probability

4.65%

90.6th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-20

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Wordpress	Wordpress	< 5.3.1
Debian	Debian Linux	8.0
Debian	Debian Linux	9.0
Debian	Debian Linux	10.0

References

https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/commit/b1975463dd995da19bb40d3fa0786498717e3c53Patch
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/01/msg00010.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2020/Jan/8Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/wordpress-5-3-1-security-and-maintenance-release/Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4599Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4677Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/commit/b1975463dd995da19bb40d3fa0786498717e3c53Patch
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/01/msg00010.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2020/Jan/8Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/wordpress-5-3-1-security-and-maintenance-release/Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4599Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4677Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Dec 27, 2019
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-20041?

How severe is CVE-2019-20041?

CVE-2019-20041 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10 (CRITICAL severity). The EPSS model estimates a 4.65% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2019-20041?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2019-20041?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST