Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Output encoding, context-aware escaping
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Impact | CVSS 8.5 (High) reflects the vulnerability's exploitability: Network-accessible (AV:N), Low attack complexity (AC:L), requires Low privileges (PR:L - authenticated user), and has Changed scope (S:C) with High confidentiality impact (C:H) but only Low integrity impact (I:L). However, real-world risk must be contextualized: (1) Attack Vector: Requires valid authentication and user account on the HAX CMS instance, significantly reducing opportunistic exploitation. (2) Exploitation Probability: No public POC or KEV listing mentioned suggests limited active exploitation, though the vulnerability is relatively straightforward to exploit for authenticated users with knowledge of the endpoints. (3) Impact Scope: Stored XSS affects rendered HAX sites and their end-users, not the CMS admin panel itself - impact is on website visitors, not administrators. (4) Practical Constraints: Requires user interaction (visiting the generated site) for payload execution; cannot directly exfiltrate data from the CMS backend. Risk Priority: Medium-to-High for organizations hosting HAX CMS with public microsite generation; lower priority for internal-only deployments. The CVSS score reasonably reflects risk given authenticated access + cross-site impact, but automated exploitation is unlikely without valid credentials. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An authenticated user with permissions to create or edit microsites on a HAX CMS instance (e.g., a marketing team member or content editor) crafts a malicious payload and submits it via the 'saveNode' endpoint, such as: |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 14, 2026
HAX CMS PHP versions prior to 11.0.0 contain a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the 'saveNode' and 'saveManifest' endpoints that fails to properly sanitize user input before storing it in the site's JSON schema. An authenticated attacker with low privileges can inject arbitrary JavaScript code through HTML tags (excluding direct <script> tags) that will execute in the context of generated HAX sites, potentially compromising site integrity and user data. The vulnerability has a high CVSS score of 8.5 due to network accessibility, low attack complexity, and cross-site impact, though real-world exploitation requires authenticated access and user interaction with the generated content.
RemediationAI
Immediate Actions: (1) Upgrade HAX CMS to version 11.0.0 or later. This version includes fixes for insufficient input sanitization in the 'saveNode' and 'saveManifest' endpoints. (2) Patch Verification: After upgrade, verify that user input is properly sanitized and output-encoded; the fix likely implements one or more of: HTML entity encoding on output, HTML tag whitelist validation, or Content Security Policy headers. (3) Short-term Mitigations (if upgrade is delayed): Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block requests to 'saveNode' and 'saveManifest' endpoints containing event handler attributes (onerror, onload, onclick, etc.); restrict access to these endpoints to trusted admin IP ranges; or disable user-facing microsite generation until patched. (4) Post-Remediation: Audit existing HAX CMS data for malicious payloads in JSON schema; sanitize or remove any suspicious content. (5) Vendor Advisory: Check the HAX project's GitHub repository (https://github.com/elmsln/HAX) or official website for version 11.0.0 release notes and patch details. No direct vendor advisory link provided in source; consult project documentation.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 2 packages in composer, euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
HAX CMS is a PHP-based headless content management system that allows users to manage microsite universes through a web interface. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation/output encoding in two critical endpoints: 'saveNode' and 'saveManifest'. These endpoints accept user-supplied JSON data that is stored directly in the site's JSON schema without proper sanitization. When the generated HAX site is rendered to end-users, this unsanitized content is rendered as HTML/JavaScript. The root cause is CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation - 'Cross-site Scripting'), a stored XSS variant where malicious payloads persist in the application data store. The attack bypasses the application's blacklist of <script> tags by leveraging alternative HTML elements with event handlers (e.g., <img onerror=>, <svg onload=>, <iframe src=javascript:>) to achieve arbitrary JavaScript execution. This is a classic input validation bypass where the developer assumed blocking one vector (script tags) was sufficient, failing to implement comprehensive output encoding or Content Security Policy controls.
Know when PHP gets its next vulnerability
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
Primary rating from GitHub Advisory · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorGitHub Advisory
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionGitHub Advisory
HAX CMS PHP allows users to manage their microsite universe with a PHP backend. Prior to version 11.0.0, the application does not sufficiently sanitize user input, allowing for the execution of arbitrary JavaScript code. The 'saveNode' and 'saveManifest' endpoints take user input and store it in the JSON schema for the site. This content is then rendered in the generated HAX site. Although the application does not allow users to supply a script tag, it does allow the use of other HTML tags to run JavaScript. Version 11.0.0 fixes the issue.
Executive ViewAI
HAX CMS PHP versions prior to 11.0.0 contain a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript through the 'saveNode' and 'saveManifest' endpoints. This vulnerability affects any organization using HAX CMS to manage microsites and could enable attackers to compromise user sessions, steal credentials, or deface published content.
Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not possible, implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block requests to 'saveNode' and 'saveManifest' endpoints containing HTML tags (iframe, img, svg, object, embed, etc.); restrict access to these endpoints to trusted internal users only via network segmentation or IP allowlisting; disable HAX CMS site editing features until patching is completed.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Cross-Site Scripting occurs when an application accepts untrusted data and sends it to a web browser without proper validation or encoding.
In PHP versions 7.1.x below 7.1.33, 7.2.x below 7.2.24 and 7.3.x below 7.3.11 in certain configurations of FPM setup it
sapi/cgi/cgi_main.c in PHP before 5.3.12 and 5.4.x before 5.4.2, when configured as a CGI script (aka php-cgi), does not
(1) boardData102.php, (2) boardData103.php, (3) boardDataJP.php, (4) boardDataNA.php, and (5) boardDataWW.php in Netgear
The '/common/download_agent_installer.php' script in the Quest KACE System Management Appliance 8.0.318 is accessible by
ProjectSend versions prior to r1720 are affected by an improper authentication vulnerability. Rated critical severity (C
Roundcube Webmail contains a critical PHP object deserialization vulnerability (CVE-2025-49113, CVSS 9.9) that allows au
Util/PHP/eval-stdin.php in PHPUnit before 4.8.28 and 5.x before 5.6.3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary PHP c
Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS management web interface contains an authentication bypass allowing unauthenticated attackers
Nagios XI version xi-5.7.5 is affected by OS command injection. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is re
Nagios XI version xi-5.7.5 is affected by OS command injection. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is re
The get_referers function in /opt/ws/bin/sblistpack in Sophos Web Appliance before 3.7.9.1 and 3.8 before 3.8.1.1 allows
The Backup Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, 1
EUVD-2025-17562
GHSA-2vc4-3hx7-v7v7
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Exploit-DB