# CVE-2026-10553: WordPress jQuery Hover Footnotes CSRF to Stored XSS

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-10553-wordpress-jquery-hover-footnotes-csrf-to-stored-xss  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-06-09. Updated: 2026-06-09  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-10553 · Severity: medium · CVSS 4.3 · Published 2026-06-09

The jQuery Hover Footnotes plugin for WordPress, which displays footnote previews on websites, contains a security flaw that allows attackers to change its settings without authorization. By tricking a site administrator into clicking a malicious link, an attacker can inject harmful scripts into the website. This could lead to the compromise of site visitors' browsers or the defacement of the website.

Vendors: [Wordpress](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/wordpress).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-10553 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-10553 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-10553?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 4.3, published 9 June 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Wordpress jQuery Hover Footnotes Up to and including 1.4.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-10553?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-10553 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a network appliance.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-10553?** Check whether you run Wordpress jQuery Hover Footnotes at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

The jQuery Hover Footnotes plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) due to missing nonce validation in the jqFootnotes_options_subpanel function. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this by tricking a site administrator into submitting a forged request, allowing the attacker to update plugin settings with arbitrary values. Because specific options like 'jqfoot_anchor_open' and 'jqfoot_title' are saved via update_option() without sanitization and subsequently rendered unescaped on the frontend, this vulnerability can be chained into a persistent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attack. This allows for the execution of malicious scripts in the context of any visitor's browser. All versions up to and including 1.4 are affected.

## Affected products

- WordPress jQuery Hover Footnotes Up to and including 1.4

## Timeline

- 2026-06-09: disclosed: Initial disclosure by Wordfence and NVD publication.

## References

- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/jquery-hover-footnotes/trunk/jqFootnotes.php](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/jquery-hover-footnotes/trunk/jqFootnotes.php)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/jquery-hover-footnotes/trunk/jqFootnotes.php](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/jquery-hover-footnotes/trunk/jqFootnotes.php)
- [https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/jquery-hover-footnotes/trunk/jqFootnotes.php](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/jquery-hover-footnotes/trunk/jqFootnotes.php)
- [https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/c174887b-e24d-4100-97da-8e0923ebafe5?source=cve](https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/c174887b-e24d-4100-97da-8e0923ebafe5?source=cve)

## Related threats

- [WordPress jQuery Hover Footnotes Stored XSS via Footnote Qualifier](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-10738-wordpress-jquery-hover-footnotes-stored-xss-via-footnote)