CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2026-27740 — Discourse is an open-source discussion platform

Medium CVSS 6.1

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Versions prior to 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2 have a cross-site scripting vulnerability that arises because the system trusts the raw output from an AI Large Language Model (LLM) and renders it using htmlSafe in the Review Queue interface without adequate sanitization. A malicious attacker can use valid Prompt Injection techniques to force the AI to return a malicious payload (e.g., tags). When a Staff member (Admin/Moderator) views the flagged post in the Review Queue, the payload executes. Versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2 contain a patch. As a workaround, temporarily disable AI triage automation scripts.

Severity
Medium
CVSS
6.1 (3.1)
Published
2026-03-19
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-79

Affected products

  • discourse / discourse
  • discourse / discourse / 2026.3.0

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

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