Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-3481

XSS in Google Critters 0.0.17 – 0.0.19

XSS
Published
21 August 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0017 7th percentile
Risk Priority 43 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-3481 is a medium-severity Basic XSS (CWE-80) vulnerability in Google Critters. Its CVSS base score is 5.7 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked at the 7th 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

Critters versions 0.0.17-0.0.19 have an issue when parsing the HTML, which leads to a potential cross-site scripting (XSS) bug. We recommend upgrading to version 0.0.20 of the extension. 

CWE(s)
CWE-80CWE-116CWE-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 →
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 →
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 →
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1189 Drive-by Compromise Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access to a system through a user visiting a website over the normal course of browsing.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-28499Shared CWE-116, CWE-79
CVE-2026-43939Shared CWE-116, CWE-79
CVE-2026-43938Shared CWE-116, CWE-79
CVE-2023-5485Same vendor: Google
CVE-2023-32071Shared CWE-116, CWE-79
CVE-2023-39527Shared CWE-116, CWE-79
CVE-2023-37875Shared CWE-116, CWE-79
CVE-2023-2200Shared CWE-116, CWE-79
CVE-2026-29106Shared CWE-116, CWE-79
CVE-2023-5480Same vendor: Google

Affected Assets

google
critters
0.0.17 — 0.0.19

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
  • V1.2.1
  • V1.2.3
  • 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.

SI-15 Information Output Filtering
addresses: CWE-79 CWE-116

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

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.

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 output encoding and input validation that prevent basic XSS.

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.8.28 Secure coding mostly match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly require correct output encoding and escaping to preserve message structure.

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

Security testing in development catches unneutralized script tags before release.

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 SDLC mandates input validation and output encoding that directly prevent basic XSS.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for neutralization of script-related HTML tags.

References