Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-49785

SSRF in Nextchat ≤ 2.11.2

Public PoCHigh EPSSSSRFXSS
Published
12 March 2024
Modified
10 April 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.83 99.7th percentile
Risk Priority 93 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-2023-49785 is a critical-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Nextchat Nextchat. Its CVSS base score is 9.1 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked in the top 0.3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-4 (Information Flow Enforcement) and SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

NextChat, also known as ChatGPT-Next-Web, is a cross-platform chat user interface for ChatGPT. Versions 2.11.2 and earlier contain server-side request forgery and cross-site scripting flaws tracked under CVE-2023-49785. The issues permit unauthenticated network callers to reach internal HTTP resources with both read and write methods, including POST and PUT, while also enabling reflected or stored script execution.

An attacker with network access to an exposed instance can issue crafted requests that reach otherwise unreachable internal endpoints, exfiltrate data, modify state on those systems, or relay arbitrary traffic to external targets to obscure the true source IP. Because the application requires no credentials for these proxy-like behaviors, the flaws can be triggered remotely without user interaction.

Public references, including the project repository and associated issue and pull-request threads, indicate that no official patch existed at disclosure. Recommended mitigations center on avoiding public internet exposure entirely or placing the service in a strictly isolated network segment that has no routes to other internal assets.

The vulnerability affects an AI-oriented chat frontend and carries a CVSS score of 9.1. Its EPSS score has reached a peak of 0.9338 with a current value of 0.9044, indicating sustained exploitation interest after publication.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

NextChat, also known as ChatGPT-Next-Web, is a cross-platform chat user interface for use with ChatGPT. Versions 2.11.2 and prior are vulnerable to server-side request forgery and cross-site scripting. This vulnerability enables read access to internal HTTP endpoints but also write…

more

access using HTTP POST, PUT, and other methods. Attackers can also use this vulnerability to mask their source IP by forwarding malicious traffic intended for other Internet targets through these open proxies. As of time of publication, no patch is available, but other mitigation strategies are available. Users may avoid exposing the application to the public internet or, if exposing the application to the internet, ensure it is an isolated network with no access to any other internal resources.

CWE(s)

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.
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.
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
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.
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.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-41136Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-2768Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-38476Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-5026Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-27225Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-37132Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-0514Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-28774Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-3074Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-3539Shared CWE-79

Affected Assets

nextchat
nextchat
≤ 2.11.2

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
  • V1.3.6
  • V1.5.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Information flow enforcement can restrict which destinations the server is allowed to contact on behalf of users.

Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing or incorrect input neutralization through targeted web-application tests.

Input validation directly enforces neutralization of untrusted data before it reaches web output generation.

Output filtering can catch or sanitize unneutralized script content before it is served to users.

Boundary protection limits the network reach of server-initiated requests even if SSRF occurs.

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

DE.CM-09 partial match
prevents

Runtime monitoring of web applications and services can detect anomalous outbound requests indicative of SSRF.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover and record SSRF flaws in web applications.

PR.IR-01 partial match
prevents

Network segmentation and egress controls can limit the damage from successful SSRF requests.

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.

finds

Secure-coding testing and automated code-analysis tools are applied to detect improper neutralization of script-related content during web-page generation.

prevents

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

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.

prevents

Requiring language-specific secure-coding standards and automated scanning during the SDLC catches missing output encoding or improper neutralization of untrusted data before the software reaches production.

prevents

Secure-coding standards, SAST scans and removal of insecure code samples together eliminate the failure to neutralize script content that produces cross-site scripting flaws.

References