CVE-2023-1880
Published: 05 April 2023
Summary
CVE-2023-1880 is a medium-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq. Its CVSS base score is 6.1 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked in the top 5.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis
CVE-2023-1880 is a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79) affecting the phpMyFAQ GitHub repository in versions prior to 3.1.12. The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 6.1 and stems from insufficient input sanitization that permits malicious scripts to be reflected back to users through the application.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue by crafting a URL containing a malicious payload; when a victim user clicks the link, the script executes in the victim's browser context with changed scope, enabling limited impacts to confidentiality and integrity such as session token theft or unauthorized actions within the application.
Public references point to a fix merged in commit bbc5d4aa4a4375c14e34dd9fcad2042066fe476d on the phpMyFAQ repository, which addresses the reflected XSS vector; the associated huntr.dev bounty report provides additional details on the vulnerable code paths.
The EPSS score for this CVE rose materially from lower values to a peak of 0.4207 on 2025-12-11 before receding to the current 0.1433, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest after disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-1349
Vulnerability details
Cross-site Scripting (XSS) - Reflected in GitHub repository thorsten/phpmyfaq prior to 3.1.12.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Penetration testing submits XSS payloads to web applications, detecting cross-site scripting flaws for subsequent remediation.
Validates web inputs to reject script-related content that could produce XSS.
Output validation against expected content can reject or sanitize script content in generated web pages, reducing XSS exploitability.