CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2023-22454 — Discourse is an option source discussion platform

High CVSS 8

Discourse is an option source discussion platform. Prior to version 2.8.14 on the `stable` branch and version 3.0.0.beta16 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, pending post titles can be used for cross-site scripting attacks. Pending posts can be created by unprivileged users when a category has the "require moderator approval of all new topics" setting set. This vulnerability can lead to a full XSS on sites which have modified or disabled Discourse’s default Content Security Policy. A patch is available in versions 2.8.14 and 3.0.0.beta16.

Severity
High
CVSS
8 (3.1)
Published
2023-01-05
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-79

Affected products

  • discourse / discourse
  • discourse / discourse / 1.1.0
  • discourse / discourse / 1.2.0

Showing 3 representative product identities from 206 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Cross-site scripting and unsafe browser output

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace reflected, stored, and DOM-derived untrusted values into HTML, attributes, URLs, styles, scripts, and client-side template sinks.
  • Identify affected origins, authenticated user roles, sensitive browser capabilities, and where content is shared across tenants.
  • Review framework escaping, rich-text sanitization, legacy templates, and client-side rendering paths.

Remediate safely

  • Use context-aware framework output encoding and safe DOM APIs; keep untrusted data out of executable contexts.
  • Sanitize intentionally supported markup with a maintained allowlist policy and validate URLs and attributes separately.
  • Update affected rendering components and add tests for every output context using inert sentinel markup.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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