Security Resilience

CVE-2023-25571

XSS in Linuxfoundation Backstage Catalog-Model ≤ 1.2.0

XSS
Published
14 February 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0045 38th percentile
Risk Priority 50 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-2023-25571 is a medium-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Linuxfoundation Backstage Catalog-Model. Its CVSS base score is 6.8 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Protocol or Service Impersonation (T1001.003); ranked at the 38th 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

Backstage is an open platform for building developer portals. `@backstage/catalog-model` prior to version 1.2.0, `@backstage/core-components` prior to 0.12.4, and `@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend` prior to 1.7.2 are affected by a cross-site scripting vulnerability. This vulnerability allows a malicious actor with access to add…

more

or modify content in an instance of the Backstage software catalog to inject script URLs in the entities stored in the catalog. If users of the catalog then click on said URLs, that can lead to an XSS attack. This vulnerability has been patched in both the frontend and backend implementations. The default `Link` component from `@backstage/core-components` version 1.2.0 and greater will now reject `javascript:` URLs, and there is a global override of `window.open` to do the same. In addition, the catalog model v0.12.4 and greater as well as the catalog backend v1.7.2 and greater now has additional validation built in that prevents `javascript:` URLs in known annotations. As a workaround, the general practice of limiting access to modifying catalog content and requiring code reviews greatly help mitigate this vulnerability.

CWE(s)
CWE-79CWE-84

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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 →
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
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 →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-30959Shared CWE-79, CWE-84
CVE-2023-48837Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-29023Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-48456Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-35094Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-37308Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-37630Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-22468Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-27617Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-25064Shared CWE-79

Affected Assets

linuxfoundation
backstage catalog-model
≤ 1.2.0
linuxfoundation
backstage core-components
≤ 0.12.4
linuxfoundation
backstage plugin-catalog-backend
≤ 1.7.2

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)
  • V1.1.2
  • 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
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-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).

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.5.6 Contact with special interest groups partial match
blocks

A.5.6 only promotes membership in groups to improve knowledge, receive alerts, and share information; it performs no action that stops XSS exploitation (or even the underlying neutralization defect) and is a pure dependency for other controls per the owner's labeling rule.

References