Security Resilience

CVE-2023-23707

XSS in Awsm Embed Any Document ≤ 2.7.1

XSS
Published
23 March 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
CVSS Score v3.1 5.9
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0038 31th percentile
Risk Priority 40 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-23707 is a medium-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Awsm Embed Any Document. Its CVSS base score is 5.9 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked at the 31th 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 InjectionA06:2025 Insecure Design

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerability in Awsm Innovations Embed Any Document – Embed PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel Files allows Stored XSS via upload of SVG and…

more

HTML files. This issue affects Embed Any Document – Embed PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel Files plugin <= 2.7.1 versions.

CWE(s)
CWE-79CWE-434

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.005 Cached Domain Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable.
attack.mitre.org →
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1011 Exfiltration Over Other Network Medium Exfiltration
Adversaries may attempt to exfiltrate data over a different network medium than the command and control channel.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-40460Shared CWE-434, CWE-79
CVE-2023-4220Shared CWE-434, CWE-79
CVE-2023-30962Shared CWE-434, CWE-79
CVE-2023-36809Shared CWE-434, CWE-79
CVE-2023-7036Shared CWE-434, CWE-79
CVE-2023-32686Shared CWE-434, CWE-79
CVE-2023-48837Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-29023Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-48456Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-35094Shared CWE-79

Affected Assets

awsm
embed any document
≤ 2.7.1

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)
  • V5.1.1
  • 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.

MP-7 Media Use
addresses: CWE-434

Requiring identifiable owners for portable devices reduces the attack surface for unrestricted uploads of dangerous file types via anonymous media.

SC-44 Detonation Chambers
addresses: CWE-434

Dangerous file uploads can be detonated in the chamber to determine malice before any production write or execution occurs.

SC-51 Hardware-based Protection
addresses: CWE-434

Prevents unrestricted writing of arbitrary or malicious firmware by keeping hardware write-protect enabled except under tightly controlled manual procedures.

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.

SI-3 Malicious Code Protection
addresses: CWE-434

Scans files from external sources on download/open/execute, blocking unrestricted uploads of dangerous file types.

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
blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly target introduction of XSS via coding standards/testing (mostly), yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors unaddressed (partial).

PR.PS-01 partial match
blocks

Hardened configuration baselines can enforce allowed file types and processing rules.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

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).

PR.PS-05 partial match
blocks

Restricting execution of unauthorized software directly blocks dangerous uploaded files from running.

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.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.5.25 Assessment and decision on information security events partial match
removes

References