CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2023-25172 — Discourse is an open-source discussion platform

Medium CVSS 5.4

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta2 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a maliciously crafted URL can be included in a user's full name field to to carry out cross-site scripting attacks on sites with a disabled or overly permissive CSP (Content Security Policy). Discourse's default CSP prevents this vulnerability. The vulnerability is patched in version 3.0.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta2 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. As a workaround, enable and/or restore your site's CSP to the default one provided with Discourse.

Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.4 (3.1)
Published
2023-03-17
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-79

Affected products

  • discourse / discourse
  • discourse / discourse / 3.1.0

Showing 2 representative product identities from 3 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

The detailed catalog view below loads this exact record, its source evidence, and the full seven-phase agentic change plan.