XSS in Cloughit Async JavaScript

CVE-2020-36854

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.

Vulnerability class: XSS (Cross-Site Scripting)

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 6.4 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (16.1th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 16th percentile — 16.1% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2020-36854: held from 0.002 to 0.003.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.003 · change: +0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-36854?
CVE-2020-36854 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cloughit Async JavaScript, classified under Cross-site Scripting. CVSS score: 6.4/10. Published 2025-10-18.
How severe is CVE-2020-36854?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.4 out of 10.