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GHSA-9RCC-PMJ8-FFHR

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-09-18 16:59 – Updated: 2026-09-18 16:59
VLAI
Summary
Semantic MediaWiki's Special:FacetedSearch cstate hidden inputs enable reflected XSS (residual of CVE-2025-10354)
Details

Summary

Special:FacetedSearch cstate hidden inputs enable reflected XSS (residual of CVE-2025-10354)

Details

Affected versions and vulnerable location

  • Confirmed present on latest shipped release tag available in the local clone: SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki@7.2.0.
  • Confirmed present on default branch master at HEAD 18f418b4cdf2875e67a741349179a22c1573f61c.

Vulnerable sink (default-branch representation):

  • src/MediaWiki/Specials/FacetedSearch/HtmlBuilder.php:131-133
  • Builds $hidden by concatenating unescaped request-controlled cstate[$key] values into an HTML attribute context (value="...").
  • templates/FacetedSearch/search.mustache:25
  • Inserts the constructed fragment via {{{hidden}}} (no HTML escaping at this boundary).

Reachability trace (verified from source)

  1. HTTP entrypoint:
  2. GET to Special:FacetedSearch dispatches into SMW\MediaWiki\Specials\SpecialFacetedSearch::execute().
  3. Request decoding boundary:
  4. SpecialFacetedSearch::execute() constructs UrlArgs from $request->getValues() and calls ParametersProcessor::checkRequest($request).
  5. Checksum gate:
  6. ParametersProcessor::checkRequest() clears cstate only when filtered != 1 and getInt('csum', 0) != crc32(getVal('q', '')).
  7. Decoder -> HTML assembly:
  8. HtmlBuilder::buildHTML() iterates foreach ( $urlArgs->getArray( 'cstate' ) as $key => $value ) and concatenates each into $hidden without escaping.
  9. HtmlBuilder::buildHTML() passes $hidden into the template variable hidden.
  10. HTML injection sink:
  11. templates/FacetedSearch/search.mustache renders {{{hidden}}} into the <form>, so the concatenated markup is inserted as raw HTML.

PoC

Reproduction steps (source-derived)

  1. Choose a q value.
  2. Compute csum as crc32(q).
  3. Send a request that includes:
  4. q=<chosen>
  5. csum=<crc32(q)>
  6. at least one cstate[<key>]=<payload> entry

Example request shape:

/index.php/Special:FacetedSearch?q=Text&csum=<crc32(Text)>&cstate[0]=x%22%20autofocus%20onfocus%3Dalert(1)%20x%22

Impact

Attacker model

  • Any remote attacker who can send HTTP requests to Special:FacetedSearch (or the localized alias mapped to the same SpecialFacetedSearch class) can supply attacker-controlled query parameters.
  • Preconditions:
  • The attacker must make cstate survive ParametersProcessor::checkRequest(), either by setting csum to crc32(q) (when filtered != 1), or by setting filtered=1.
  • The attacker must supply cstate[<key>] values containing characters that break out of the HTML value="..." attribute context (for example an injected " to terminate the attribute value).

Severity and CVSS reasoning

Proposed severity: MEDIUM.

Proposed CVSS v3.1 vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.

Rationale:

  • AV:N: delivered over the network via query parameters.
  • AC:L: requires only setting q, csum, and at least one cstate entry.
  • PR:N: no authentication required for the request path in this code.
  • UI:R: the victim must load the crafted URL.
  • S:C: reflected XSS executes in the wiki origin and can affect other users depending on deployment and browser behavior.

Why this is a residual of CVE-2025-10354

  • The CVE-2025-10354 hardening shipped by escaping the q parameter before emitting it into the value="{{q}}" attribute.
  • Commit 3d675ce updates only the q rendering to use htmlspecialchars( $urlArgs->get( 'q', '' ) ) and does not touch the adjacent cstate -> $hidden construction loop.
  • As a result, cstate remains an unescaped input source that flows into the same raw template injection point ({{{hidden}}}), creating a distinct reflected-XSS lane.

Output (from code inspection)

Given the payload idea where cstate[0] starts with x" ... x", HtmlBuilder.php constructs the hidden fragment by concatenation:

<input name="cstate[0]" type="hidden" value="x" autofocus onfocus=alert(1) x">

Because search.mustache injects the fragment via {{{hidden}}}, the attacker-controlled markup participates in normal HTML parsing in the response body.

Suggested fix

  • Escape both the cstate key and value when constructing $hidden.
  • Minimal code change in src/MediaWiki/Specials/FacetedSearch/HtmlBuilder.php:
foreach ( $urlArgs->getArray( 'cstate' ) as $key => $value ) {
    $safeKey = htmlspecialchars( (string)$key, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8' );
    $safeValue = htmlspecialchars( (string)$value, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8' );
    $hidden .= '<input name="cstate[' . $safeKey . ']" type="hidden" value="' . $safeValue . '">';
}

This keeps the raw {{{hidden}}} template insertion safe by ensuring the concatenated HTML fragment itself is attribute-escaped.

How I found it and a note on tooling

I anchored on the published CVE-2025-10354 patch by verifying in the checked-out repository that commit 3d675ce changes only the q rendering in HtmlBuilder.php to use htmlspecialchars.

Then I traced the reachable request path from SpecialFacetedSearch::execute() through ParametersProcessor::checkRequest() (checksum gate for whether cstate survives) into HtmlBuilder::buildHTML() where $hidden is constructed from cstate without escaping and injected into templates/FacetedSearch/search.mustache via {{{hidden}}}.

(End of file)

AI tooling

I used AI assistance for the code audit and for drafting this report. I manually verified the finding against the project's source at the location cited above before reporting it, and the severity and impact assessment are my own.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "database_specific": {
        "last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 7.2.0"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Packagist",
        "name": "mediawiki/semantic-media-wiki"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "4.2.0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "7.2.1"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-79"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-09-18T16:59:16Z",
    "nvd_published_at": null,
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "### Summary\n\nSpecial:FacetedSearch `cstate` hidden inputs enable reflected XSS (residual of CVE-2025-10354)\n\n### Details\n\n#### Affected versions and vulnerable location\n\n- Confirmed present on latest shipped release tag available in the local clone: `SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki@7.2.0`.\n- Confirmed present on default branch `master` at HEAD `18f418b4cdf2875e67a741349179a22c1573f61c`.\n\nVulnerable sink (default-branch representation):\n\n- `src/MediaWiki/Specials/FacetedSearch/HtmlBuilder.php:131-133`\n  - Builds `$hidden` by concatenating unescaped request-controlled `cstate[$key]` values into an HTML attribute context (`value=\"...\"`).\n- `templates/FacetedSearch/search.mustache:25`\n  - Inserts the constructed fragment via `{{{hidden}}}` (no HTML escaping at this boundary).\n\n#### Reachability trace (verified from source)\n\n1. HTTP entrypoint:\n   - `GET` to `Special:FacetedSearch` dispatches into `SMW\\MediaWiki\\Specials\\SpecialFacetedSearch::execute()`.\n2. Request decoding boundary:\n   - `SpecialFacetedSearch::execute()` constructs `UrlArgs` from `$request-\u003egetValues()` and calls `ParametersProcessor::checkRequest($request)`.\n3. Checksum gate:\n   - `ParametersProcessor::checkRequest()` clears `cstate` only when `filtered != 1` and `getInt(\u0027csum\u0027, 0) != crc32(getVal(\u0027q\u0027, \u0027\u0027))`.\n4. Decoder -\u003e HTML assembly:\n   - `HtmlBuilder::buildHTML()` iterates `foreach ( $urlArgs-\u003egetArray( \u0027cstate\u0027 ) as $key =\u003e $value )` and concatenates each into `$hidden` without escaping.\n   - `HtmlBuilder::buildHTML()` passes `$hidden` into the template variable `hidden`.\n5. HTML injection sink:\n   - `templates/FacetedSearch/search.mustache` renders `{{{hidden}}}` into the `\u003cform\u003e`, so the concatenated markup is inserted as raw HTML.\n\n### PoC\n\n#### Reproduction steps (source-derived)\n\n1. Choose a `q` value.\n2. Compute `csum` as `crc32(q)`.\n3. Send a request that includes:\n   - `q=\u003cchosen\u003e`\n   - `csum=\u003ccrc32(q)\u003e`\n   - at least one `cstate[\u003ckey\u003e]=\u003cpayload\u003e` entry\n\nExample request shape:\n\n```text\n/index.php/Special:FacetedSearch?q=Text\u0026csum=\u003ccrc32(Text)\u003e\u0026cstate[0]=x%22%20autofocus%20onfocus%3Dalert(1)%20x%22\n```\n\n### Impact\n\n#### Attacker model\n\n- Any remote attacker who can send HTTP requests to `Special:FacetedSearch` (or the localized alias mapped to the same `SpecialFacetedSearch` class) can supply attacker-controlled query parameters.\n- Preconditions:\n  - The attacker must make `cstate` survive `ParametersProcessor::checkRequest()`, either by setting `csum` to `crc32(q)` (when `filtered != 1`), or by setting `filtered=1`.\n  - The attacker must supply `cstate[\u003ckey\u003e]` values containing characters that break out of the HTML `value=\"...\"` attribute context (for example an injected `\"` to terminate the attribute value).\n\n#### Severity and CVSS reasoning\n\nProposed severity: MEDIUM.\n\nProposed CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`.\n\nRationale:\n\n- AV:N: delivered over the network via query parameters.\n- AC:L: requires only setting `q`, `csum`, and at least one `cstate` entry.\n- PR:N: no authentication required for the request path in this code.\n- UI:R: the victim must load the crafted URL.\n- S:C: reflected XSS executes in the wiki origin and can affect other users depending on deployment and browser behavior.\n\n### Why this is a residual of CVE-2025-10354\n\n- The CVE-2025-10354 hardening shipped by escaping the `q` parameter before emitting it into the `value=\"{{q}}\"` attribute.\n- Commit `3d675ce` updates only the `q` rendering to use `htmlspecialchars( $urlArgs-\u003eget( \u0027q\u0027, \u0027\u0027 ) )` and does not touch the adjacent `cstate` -\u003e `$hidden` construction loop.\n- As a result, `cstate` remains an unescaped input source that flows into the same raw template injection point (`{{{hidden}}}`), creating a distinct reflected-XSS lane.\n\n### Output (from code inspection)\n\nGiven the payload idea where `cstate[0]` starts with `x\" ... x\"`, `HtmlBuilder.php` constructs the hidden fragment by concatenation:\n\n```html\n\u003cinput name=\"cstate[0]\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"x\" autofocus onfocus=alert(1) x\"\u003e\n```\n\nBecause `search.mustache` injects the fragment via `{{{hidden}}}`, the attacker-controlled markup participates in normal HTML parsing in the response body.\n\n### Suggested fix\n\n- Escape both the `cstate` key and value when constructing `$hidden`.\n- Minimal code change in `src/MediaWiki/Specials/FacetedSearch/HtmlBuilder.php`:\n\n```php\nforeach ( $urlArgs-\u003egetArray( \u0027cstate\u0027 ) as $key =\u003e $value ) {\n\t$safeKey = htmlspecialchars( (string)$key, ENT_QUOTES, \u0027UTF-8\u0027 );\n\t$safeValue = htmlspecialchars( (string)$value, ENT_QUOTES, \u0027UTF-8\u0027 );\n\t$hidden .= \u0027\u003cinput name=\"cstate[\u0027 . $safeKey . \u0027]\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"\u0027 . $safeValue . \u0027\"\u003e\u0027;\n}\n```\n\nThis keeps the raw `{{{hidden}}}` template insertion safe by ensuring the concatenated HTML fragment itself is attribute-escaped.\n\n### How I found it and a note on tooling\n\nI anchored on the published CVE-2025-10354 patch by verifying in the checked-out repository that commit `3d675ce` changes only the `q` rendering in `HtmlBuilder.php` to use `htmlspecialchars`.\n\nThen I traced the reachable request path from `SpecialFacetedSearch::execute()` through `ParametersProcessor::checkRequest()` (checksum gate for whether `cstate` survives) into `HtmlBuilder::buildHTML()` where `$hidden` is constructed from `cstate` without escaping and injected into `templates/FacetedSearch/search.mustache` via `{{{hidden}}}`.\n\n(End of file)\n\n### AI tooling\n\nI used AI assistance for the code audit and for drafting this report. I manually verified the finding against the project\u0027s source at the location cited above before reporting it, and the severity and impact assessment are my own.",
  "id": "GHSA-9rcc-pmj8-ffhr",
  "modified": "2026-09-18T16:59:17Z",
  "published": "2026-09-18T16:59:16Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki/security/advisories/GHSA-9rcc-pmj8-ffhr"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki/releases/tag/7.2.1"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "Semantic MediaWiki\u0027s Special:FacetedSearch cstate hidden inputs enable reflected XSS (residual of CVE-2025-10354)"
}



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