CVE-2020-36854 | Async JavaScript <= 2.19.07.14 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting

The Async JavaScript plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting in versions up to, and including, 2.19.07.14. This is due to missing authorization checks on the aj_steps AJAX aciton along with a lack on sanitization on the settings saved via the function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with subscriber level permissions and above to inject malicious web scripts into a page that execute whenever a user accesses that page.

Published: 2025-10-18 Last update: 2026-04-15 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Deferred，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2020-36854 is rated Low Risk (27.3/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-36854

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-10-18 — 0.02% —

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-36854

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.4 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 3.1 2.7 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-36854

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-36854

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2020-36854

cvelogic Threat Intelligence