Sysop-level stored XSS via unescaped new-message messages
Published Nov 3, 2023 · Updated Nov 4, 2025
Stored XSS in MediaWiki before 1.35.12, 1.36.0 through 1.39.4, and 1.40.0 allows remote authenticated users with sysop rights to run JavaScript. The new-message banner outputs the youhavenewmessagesmanyusers and youhavenewmessages interface messages without escaping, yet the messages are not marked for script-sensitive edit controls. A sysop must store script markup in MediaWiki:Youhavenewmessagesfromusers, and another user must receive a talk-page message and load a page, executing the script in that user's session.
Summary
What happened
Stored XSS in MediaWiki before 1.35.12, 1.36.0 through 1.39.4, and 1.40.0 allows remote authenticated users with sysop rights to run JavaScript. The new-message banner outputs the youhavenewmessagesmanyusers and youhavenewmessages interface messages without escaping, yet the messages are not marked for script-sensitive edit controls. A sysop must store script markup in MediaWiki:Youhavenewmessagesfromusers, and another user must receive a talk-page message and load a page, executing the script in that user's session.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-45360
- Published
- Nov 3, 2023
- Updated
- Nov 4, 2025
- Vendor
- Wikimedia Foundation
- Product
- MediaWiki
- Classifications
- CWE-79, T1059.007
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Nov 3, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Nov 4, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <1.35.12
- Affected versionversion=1.36.0 <1.39.5
- Affected versionversion=1.40.0 <1.40.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Wikimedia T340221 reproduction procedureproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo