Skip to main content

Semantic MediaWiki EUVDEUVD-2026-110713

| CVE-2026-116885 MEDIUM
Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (CWE-79)
2026-10-27 VulnCheck GHSA-3jj2-qhj9-9w4r
5.3
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: VulnCheck
View

Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Craft malicious Special:SMWAdmin lookup URL
  2. Delivery
    Lure smw-admin administrator to open link
  3. Exploit
    Unescaped id reflected into warning box
  4. Execution
    Script executes in admin session
  5. Impact
    Perform privileged actions / exfiltrate CSRF token

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.

Exploitation Conditions

Requires that the target wiki run Semantic MediaWiki (Special:SMWAdmin and its /lookup subpage are enabled by default) and that a logged-in user holding the smw-admin right opens the attacker's crafted link. The attacker needs no account or privileges and no valid CSRF token, because SpecialAdmin::execute overwrites wpEditToken with the current user's own token before validation, so a bare GET link passes the only request-time guard. The chief limiting factor is the privileged-victim requirement (CVSS UI:P): exploitation depends on social-engineering an smw-admin administrator into clicking the link, and the attacker must supply a non-numeric id that matches no stored entity to force the vulnerable empty-references branch. The complete fix is updating to 7.3.1; as an interim measure the vendor advises restricting the smw-admin right to a minimal set of trusted administrators and cautioning them against following untrusted Special:SMWAdmin links, though this does not remove the flaw.

Impact

This is a reflected XSS (CWE-79) in Semantic MediaWiki's Special:SMWAdmin ID lookup, scored 5.3 via the supplied CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P, impacts VC:L/VI:L/VA:N and subsequent SC:L/SI:L). The network vector with no attacker authentication (PR:N) is offset by the required privileged victim interaction (UI:P): exploitation only succeeds when a user holding the smw-admin right is lured into opening the crafted link, which narrows the targetable population to wiki administrators. vuln.today assigns a 'this_month' priority (not act_now/emergency), consistent with a medium-severity, interaction-dependent flaw. No EPSS score is provided, so exploitation-probability cannot be weighed here, and the CVE is not listed in CISA KEV - no public active-exploitation evidence. The GHSA advisory includes a complete proof-of-concept URL, so the trigger is well documented; a public PoC reference exists, but the input does not mark it as confirmed working exploit code. Signals are internally consistent (network-delivered link, privileged click required), so this is a genuine-but-moderate priority: a credible, well-described attack against administrators rather than a widespread unauthenticated-RCE emergency. Note one source conflict on patch state: the GitHub source-code evidence states 'not fixed' at tag 7.3.0, while the EUVD/reporter metadata and the top-level input state the fix landed in 7.3.1 - treat 7.3.1 as the fixed release but verify against the vendor advisory.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An unauthenticated attacker crafts a single GET URL to Special:SMWAdmin/lookup with an id parameter containing HTML markup (e.g. an img tag with an onerror handler) and sends it to a wiki administrator holding the smw-admin right. When the administrator opens the link, the unmatched ID reaches the empty-references branch, the raw id is reflected unescaped into a warning box, and the script executes in the administrator's authenticated same-origin session. A detailed proof-of-concept is published in the GHSA advisory, though the input does not confirm it as working exploit code.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 28, 2026

Reflected cross-site scripting in Semantic MediaWiki (3.1.0 through 7.3.0) lets an unauthenticated attacker inject markup through the unescaped id parameter of the Special:SMWAdmin ID lookup, which is rendered verbatim into an HTML warning box. Because SpecialAdmin::execute overwrites wpEditToken on the request with the current user's own token before the handler validates it, a bare GET link with no CSRF token passes the only request-time guard, so the attacker only needs to lure a logged-in user holding the smw-admin right into opening a crafted URL that supplies a non-numeric id matching no stored entity. Successful exploitation yields script execution same-origin with the wiki in the privileged administrator's session, enabling authenticated requests and privileged wiki actions; a proof-of-concept payload is described publicly in the vendor advisory, though it is not verified as packaged working exploit code, active exploitation is not confirmed (no CISA KEV), and the vendor-released fix is version 7.3.1.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: Semantic MediaWiki 7.3.1, which is listed as the fixed version for the Composer package mediawiki/semantic-media-wiki; upgrading from any 3.1.0 through 7.3.0 release to 7.3.1 is the complete fix and should be applied per the GitHub advisory at https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki/security/advisories/GHSA-4fr3-ghqj-28wx (mirrored at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/semantic-mediawiki-before-7.3.1-reflected-xss-via-special-smwadmin-id-parameter). The underlying fix escapes the untrusted id value before it reaches the raw-HTML warning box in the empty-references branch, for example by emitting the smw-admin-iddispose-no-references message with the escaped message type, matching the sibling branch that uses the parse type, and the advisory recommends auditing surrounding form-building code for other messages emitted with the default plain-text type that carry request-derived data into a raw-HTML sink. As an interim measure, the vendor advises restricting the smw-admin right to a minimal set of trusted administrators and cautioning those administrators against following untrusted Special:SMWAdmin lookup links; this reduces exposure but does not remove the flaw, and the auto-satisfied edit-token behavior means token-based defenses cannot be relied on to block a crafted GET link, while disabling or restricting the Special:SMWAdmin /lookup subpage trades away administrative lookup functionality. No CISA KEV entry, EPSS score, or SSVC decision data was supplied; the vuln.today priority label is this_month, so remediation should be scheduled within the current monthly patch cycle rather than treated as an emergency.

Affected VersionsENISA

SemanticMediaWiki 3.1.0 <7.3.1

Affected Packages

euvd semanticmediawiki fix: 7.3.1

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The flaw is CWE-79 (improper neutralization of input during web page generation) in Semantic MediaWiki's administrative supplement code, specifically SMW\MediaWiki\Specials\Admin\Supplement\EntityLookupTaskHandler::createMessageFromRows (sink at src/MediaWiki/Specials/Admin/Supplement/EntityLookupTaskHandler.php:283-285). The empty-references branch builds a warning box from the smw-admin-iddispose-no-references message using the default plain-text message type; MessageLocalizerTrait falls through to wfMessage(...)->text() (src/Localizer/MessageLocalizerTrait.php:35-42, src/Setup.php:276-286), which substitutes parameters raw, and the result is passed to a raw-HTML sink. The sibling branch in the same method deliberately uses the parse message type and nearby form fields use the escaped type, so the escaping invariant is applied everywhere except this one branch. User input reaches the sink via WebRequest::getText('id'), which only normalizes line endings and trims and does not strip angle brackets; the sortkey SQL transforms (addQuotes and a str_replace limited to '_' and '*') neutralize SQL but leave HTML metacharacters intact, and a non-numeric id matching no stored entity deterministically forces the vulnerable branch. The request-time guard, an edit-token check, is auto-satisfied because SpecialAdmin.php:80-84 sets wpEditToken on the request to the current user's own token before routing. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:semanticmediawiki:semanticmediawiki:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* carries no version bounds, so the concrete range comes from the advisory and package data: composer package mediawiki/semantic-media-wiki, introduced-range lower bound 3.1.0, verified vulnerable through 7.3.0 (byte-identical sink and token behavior confirmed at tags 7.3.0 and 7.2.1), fixed in 7.3.1.

Know when Mediawiki 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

Vendor (VulnCheck) PRIMARY 5.3 MEDIUM
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N
vuln.today AI 6.1 MEDIUM

Unauthenticated attacker delivers a link (AV:N, AC:L, PR:N) that only fires on an admin click (UI:R); XSS in the browser crosses origin control boundary (S:C) with limited confidentiality/integrity and no availability impact.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).

CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Passive
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
Low
Vulnerable system: Integrity
Low
Vulnerable system: Availability
None
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
Low
Subsequent system: Integrity
Low
Subsequent system: Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

1
Patch available
Oct 27, 2026 - 11:01 EUVD

DescriptionCVE.org

Semantic MediaWiki from 3.1.0 before 7.3.1 contains a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability in the Special:SMWAdmin ID lookup that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject markup through the unescaped id parameter. Attackers can lure an smw-admin administrator into opening a crafted lookup link, bypassing the auto-satisfied edit-token check, to execute script and perform privileged actions in the administrator's session.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 92% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
popular MediaWiki extension, deployed only on wikis that install it
Social Media
1
Sightings
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

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.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

26
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +26
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Cross-Site Scripting occurs when an application accepts untrusted data and sends it to a web browser without proper validation or encoding.

CVE-2014-1610 MEDIUM POC
6.0 Jan 30

MediaWiki 1.22.x before 1.22.2, 1.21.x before 1.21.5, and 1.19.x before 1.19.11, when DjVu or PDF file upload support is

CVE-2015-8009 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Jul 25

The MWOAuthDataStore::lookup_token function in Extension:OAuth for MediaWiki 1.25.x before 1.25.3, 1.24.x before 1.24.4,

CVE-2023-37303 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Jun 30

An issue was discovered in the CheckUser extension for MediaWiki through 1.39.3. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), thi

CVE-2022-29906 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Apr 29

The admin API module in the QuizGame extension for MediaWiki through 1.37.2 (before 665e33a68f6fa1167df99c0aa18ed0157cdf

CVE-2022-29904 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Apr 29

The SemanticDrilldown extension for MediaWiki through 1.37.2 (before e688bdba6434591b5dff689a45e4d53459954773) allows SQ

CVE-2022-28206 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Mar 30

An issue was discovered in MediaWiki through 1.37.1. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely

CVE-2022-28205 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Mar 30

An issue was discovered in MediaWiki through 1.37.1. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely

CVE-2021-36128 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Jul 02

An issue was discovered in the CentralAuth extension in MediaWiki through 1.36. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this

CVE-2021-36126 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Jul 02

An issue was discovered in the AbuseFilter extension in MediaWiki through 1.36. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this

CVE-2017-8809 CRITICAL
9.8 Nov 15

api.php in MediaWiki before 1.27.4, 1.28.x before 1.28.3, and 1.29.x before 1.29.2 has a Reflected File Download vulnera

CVE-2024-47849 HIGH POC
8.8 Oct 05

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in The Wikimedia Foun

CVE-2021-36132 HIGH POC
8.8 Jul 02

An issue was discovered in the FileImporter extension in MediaWiki through 1.36. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vu

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy