Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-22288

XSS in Checkmk 2.0.0 … 2.1.0

XSS
Published
20 March 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0040 33th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-22288 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements (CWE-138) vulnerability in Checkmk Checkmk. Its CVSS base score is 4.1 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked at the 33th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

HTML Email Injection in Tribe29 Checkmk <=2.1.0p23; <=2.0.0p34, and all versions of Checkmk 1.6.0 allows an authenticated attacker to inject malicious HTML into Emails

CWE(s)
CWE-138CWE-79

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1185 Browser Session Hijacking Collection
Adversaries may take advantage of security vulnerabilities and inherent functionality in browser software to change content, modify user-behaviors, and intercept information as part of various browser session hijacking techniques.
attack.mitre.org →
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 →
T1539 Steal Web Session Cookie Credential Access
An adversary may steal web application or service session cookies and use them to gain access to web applications or Internet services as an authenticated user without needing credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-23548Same product: Checkmk Checkmk
CVE-2023-22309Same vendor: Tribe29
CVE-2019-3929Shared CWE-79
CVE-2025-48939Shared CWE-138
CVE-2023-42117Shared CWE-138
CVE-2024-38133Shared CWE-138
CVE-2026-20009Shared CWE-138
CVE-2026-32178Shared CWE-138
CVE-2023-25837Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-22438Shared CWE-79

Affected Assets

checkmk
checkmk
2.0.0, 2.1.0
tribe29
checkmk
1.6.0 — 2.0.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.3.12
  • V1.1.2
  • V1.3.2

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.

CA-8 Penetration Testing
addresses: CWE-79

Penetration testing submits XSS payloads to web applications, detecting cross-site scripting flaws for subsequent remediation.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-79

Validates web inputs to reject script-related content that could produce XSS.

SI-15 Information Output Filtering
addresses: CWE-79

Output validation against expected content can reject or sanitize script content in generated web pages, reducing XSS exploitability.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require proper neutralization of inputs to prevent injection flaws.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching and EOL replacement can remediate known XSS instances in libraries or frameworks (partial) but do nothing to enforce input neutralization in application code (none).

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect instances of CWE-138 but does not itself implement the neutralization controls.

A.5.6 Contact with special interest groups partial match
prevents

Knowledge exchange on emerging attack techniques and patches reduces the likelihood that cross-site scripting flaws remain unaddressed in deployed applications.

A.5.7 Threat intelligence partial match
prevents

Operational indicators of compromise for web-application attacks can be incorporated into WAF or input-filtering rules, lowering the likelihood that unsanitized data reaches the browser.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and sanitization that directly prevents improper neutralization of special elements.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection and malformed input that cause CWE-138.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure system architecture principles reduce attack surface but do not prescribe the specific neutralization techniques needed for CWE-138.

References