Cyber Resilience

CVE-2022-50908

MediumPublic PoC

Published: 13 January 2026

Published
13 January 2026
Modified
15 April 2026
KEV Added
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Patch
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CVSS Score v4 5.1 CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/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
EPSS Score 0.0003 8.9th percentile
Risk Priority 10 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2022-50908 is a medium-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Shodan (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 5.1 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 8.9th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-15 (Information Output Filtering).

Deeper analysis

CVE-2022-50908 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability, classified under CWE-79, affecting MailHog version 1.0.1. The flaw enables attackers to inject malicious scripts via email attachments processed by the MailHog email testing server.

Attackers with network access can exploit this by sending crafted emails containing XSS payloads to a vulnerable MailHog instance. No privileges or user interaction are required per the CVSS v3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N, score 7.2), allowing execution of arbitrary API calls upon payload activation, such as message deletion and browser manipulation.

References include the MailHog GitHub repository, an Exploit-DB entry (50971) detailing the exploit, Shodan queries for exposed MailHog instances, and a Vulncheck advisory on the stored XSS vulnerability, which security practitioners should consult for additional guidance on detection and response.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

Mailhog 1.0.1 contains a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts through email attachments. Attackers can send crafted emails with XSS payloads to execute arbitrary API calls, including message deletion and browser manipulation.

CWE(s)
CWE-79

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
Why these techniques?

Stored XSS in public-facing MailHog server directly enables exploitation of the vulnerable application over the network with no auth required.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v18.1

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2021-47873Shared CWE-79
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CVE-2024-56060Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-49043Shared CWE-79
CVE-2026-40038Shared CWE-79
CVE-2024-56022Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-68889Shared CWE-79
CVE-2026-1074Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-22539Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-22286Shared CWE-79

Affected Assets

Shodan
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inferred from references and description; NVD did not file a CPE for this CVE

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Directly requires validation and sanitization of untrusted input (email attachments) to block XSS payload injection before storage or execution.

SI-15 Information Output Filtering good match
prevent

Requires output filtering/encoding of stored email content to neutralize malicious scripts before they reach the browser or trigger API calls.

SI-3 Malicious Code Protection partial match
preventdetect

Provides mechanisms to detect and block malicious code (XSS payloads) delivered via email attachments before they are processed or rendered.

References