CVE-2026-73254Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Stored XSS via unescaped filenames

Published Aug 20, 2026 · Updated Aug 20, 2026

Stored XSS in Cesanta Mongoose before 7.22 lets attackers run script in a user's browser via crafted filenames in MG_ENABLE_DIRLIST output. The printdirentry() code path reached from listdir() in src/http.c URL-encodes the href target but writes the raw filesystem filename into the HTML link text without entity encoding, so browser-parsed markup from the filename becomes active content. Exploitation requires a file-write path into a served directory and a victim who browses a directory listing; the resulting script runs in the Mongoose origin and can read session data or issue actions as that victim.

CVSS severity5.4
Medium
EPSS probability0.23%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Stored XSS in Cesanta Mongoose before 7.22 lets attackers run script in a user's browser via crafted filenames in MG_ENABLE_DIRLIST output. The printdirentry() code path reached from listdir() in src/http.c URL-encodes the href target but writes the raw filesystem filename into the HTML link text without entity encoding, so browser-parsed markup from the filename becomes active content. Exploitation requires a file-write path into a served directory and a victim who browses a directory listing; the resulting script runs in the Mongoose origin and can read session data or issue actions as that victim.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-73254
Published
Aug 20, 2026
Updated
Aug 20, 2026
Vendor
Cesanta
Product
Mongoose
Classifications
CWE-79, CAPEC-592, T1059.007
Attack vector
network
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 20, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 20, 2026Record 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 7.22

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

Cesanta · Mongooseversion=< 7.22

Published CVSS scores

5.4GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-79Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CAPEC-592Stored XSS
T1059.007JavaScript

Public exploit references

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