Shortcode & dynamic block security

When to use this skill

Use this skill whenever code renders content from shortcodes or dynamic blocks:

• Registering a shortcode with add_shortcode().
• Reading or outputting shortcode attributes ($atts) or enclosed content ($content).
• Registering a dynamic block with a render_callback.
• Reading block attributes in a server-side render.
• Building HTML, URLs, or classes from shortcode/block input.

Shortcodes and dynamic blocks are stored XSS sinks: a contributor enters [my_card title="<script>..."] and the render callback echoes it unescaped. Every attribute must be sanitized and every output escaped.

Related: see the output-escaping skill for context-correct escaping and the gutenberg-block-editor-security skill for broader block-editor surfaces.

Core principles (and why they matter)

1. shortcode_atts() sets defaults; it does NOT sanitize. The returned array still holds raw user input. Sanitize each value before use.
2. Block attributes are user input too. Declaring type: 'string' in block.json does not escape HTML or JavaScript for you; sanitize on render.
3. Escape at render for the exact context. HTML body → esc_html(). HTML attribute → esc_attr(). URL → esc_url(). Rich HTML → wp_kses_post() with an allowlist.
4. Do not store unescaped attribute values. If you persist them, sanitize on save and escape on read.
5. Never pass shortcode/block input to do_shortcode() or eval() uncontrolled. Both can execute arbitrary shortcodes or code.
6. Return, don't echo. Shortcode and block render callbacks must return strings; echoing produces unexpected output placement.

Step-by-step implementation

1. In the shortcode callback, call shortcode_atts() with a complete default map.
2. Sanitize each attribute to its expected type (absint, sanitize_text_field, esc_url_raw, sanitize_key).
3. In a block render_callback, read attributes from the $attributes array and sanitize them the same way.
4. Build the markup by concatenating escaped values.
5. Return the complete markup string.
6. For rich content, use wp_kses_post() or a tightly scoped wp_kses() allowlist.

Supporting references

Reference	Load when
Shortcode & dynamic block security checklist	Before final verification of the shortcode & dynamic block security controls.
Secure shortcode and dynamic block	Implementing shortcode and dynamic-block render callbacks with validated attributes and escaped markup.

Common AI mistakes / anti-patterns

Mistake 1 — Echoing $atts directly

// ❌ Insecure: stored XSS through the title attribute.
function my_plugin_card_shortcode( $atts ) {
    return '<div class="card"><h3>' . $atts['title'] . '</h3></div>';
}

// ✅ Secure: default, then sanitize, then escape.
function my_plugin_card_shortcode( $atts ) {
    $atts = shortcode_atts(
        array(
            'title' => '',
            'link'  => '',
        ),
        $atts,
        'my_plugin_card'
    );

    $title = sanitize_text_field( $atts['title'] );
    $link  = esc_url_raw( $atts['link'] );

    $output = '<div class="card">';
    if ( $link ) {
        $output .= '<h3><a href="' . esc_url( $link ) . '">' . esc_html( $title ) . '</a></h3>';
    } else {
        $output .= '<h3>' . esc_html( $title ) . '</h3>';
    }
    $output .= '</div>';

    return $output;
}

Mistake 2 — Trusting shortcode_atts() to sanitize

// ❌ Insecure: shortcode_atts only supplies defaults and filters unknown keys.
$atts = shortcode_atts( array( 'class' => '' ), $atts );
echo '<div class="' . $atts['class'] . '">...</div>';

// ✅ Secure: sanitize the value after normalizing it.
$atts  = shortcode_atts( array( 'class' => '' ), $atts, 'my_plugin_box' );
$class = sanitize_html_class( $atts['class'] );
echo '<div class="' . esc_attr( $class ) . '">...</div>';

Mistake 3 — Dynamic block render callback echoing attributes

// ❌ Insecure: block attributes echoed raw.
function my_plugin_render_banner( $attributes ) {
    ?>
    <div class="banner" style="background: <?php echo $attributes['bgColor']; ?>">
        <?php echo $attributes['heading']; ?>
    </div>
    <?php
}

// ✅ Secure: sanitize attributes and escape for the output context.
function my_plugin_render_banner( $attributes ) {
    $bg_color = isset( $attributes['bgColor'] ) ? sanitize_hex_color( $attributes['bgColor'] ) : '#ffffff';
    $heading  = isset( $attributes['heading'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $attributes['heading'] ) : '';

    return sprintf(
        '<div class="banner" style="background: %s"><h2>%s</h2></div>',
        esc_attr( $bg_color ),
        esc_html( $heading )
    );
}

Mistake 4 — Allowing arbitrary HTML through attributes

// ❌ Insecure: an attacker can inject script/event handlers.
function my_plugin_render_note( $attributes ) {
    return '<div>' . $attributes['content'] . '</div>';
}

// ✅ Secure: constrain rich markup with wp_kses_post.
function my_plugin_render_note( $attributes ) {
    $content = isset( $attributes['content'] ) ? $attributes['content'] : '';
    return '<div>' . wp_kses_post( $content ) . '</div>';
}

Mistake 5 — Running do_shortcode() on untrusted input

// ❌ Insecure: executes arbitrary shortcodes supplied by a visitor.
echo do_shortcode( $_POST['content'] );

// ✅ Secure: do not run do_shortcode on user input; if required, sanitize first.
$content = wp_kses_post( wp_unslash( $_POST['content'] ?? '' ) );

Correct code examples

A complete secure shortcode and dynamic-block render callback is in references/secure-shortcode-block.php.

Checklist

• shortcode_atts() provides defaults for every supported attribute.
• Each shortcode attribute is sanitized to its expected type after normalization.
• Block attributes are sanitized inside render_callback, not trusted from block.json types.
• All rendered output is escaped for its context (esc_html, esc_attr, esc_url, wp_kses_post).
• CSS classes use sanitize_html_class() (or esc_attr() with an allowlist).
• Colors use sanitize_hex_color() where appropriate.
• The callback returns a string; it does not echo directly.
• do_shortcode() is never run on untrusted input.

Official references

• add_shortcode()
• shortcode_atts()
• register_block_type()
• get_block_wrapper_attributes()
• esc_html()
• esc_attr()
• esc_url()
• wp_kses_post()
• sanitize_html_class()
• sanitize_hex_color()
• Shortcode API — Plugin Handbook
• Block Editor Handbook