---
id: CVE-2026-96562
title: >-
  Broken Link Checker <= 2.4.14.1 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Shortcode
  Execution via parser_callback
summary: >-
  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
  valida…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-94
vendor: wpmudev
product: Broken Link Checker
affected:
  - broken_link_checker <= 2.4.14.1
published: '2026-10-16'
updated: '2026-10-16'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-16T04:26:58.157Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-96562'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/04cc4b99-8c27-4f95-b860-608c01af843b?source=cve
  - url: >-
      https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/broken-link-checker/tags/2.4.14.1/legacy/modules/parsers/html_link.php#L72
  - url: >-
      https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/broken-link-checker/tags/2.4.14.1/legacy/modules/parsers/image.php#L66
  - url: >-
      https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/broken-link-checker/tags/2.4.14.1/legacy/modules/containers/comment.php#L229
  - url: >-
      https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/broken-link-checker/tags/2.4.14.1/legacy/includes/containers.php#L298
  - url: >-
      https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3740705%40broken-link-checker&new=3740705%40broken-link-checker
tags:
  - cve.org
ingestedAt: '2026-10-16T04:58:47.494Z'
---

## Overview

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.

## Affected

- `broken_link_checker <= 2.4.14.1`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.