Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-5863

XSS in Phpmyfaq ≤ 3.2.2

Public PoCXSS
Published
31 October 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
EPSS Score 0.011 63th percentile
Risk Priority 54 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-5863 is a medium-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq. Its CVSS base score is 6.1 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked in the top 37% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

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

CVE-2023-5863 is a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability affecting the thorsten/phpmyfaq GitHub repository in versions prior to 3.2.2. The flaw, classified under CWE-79, permits injection of malicious scripts that execute in the victim's browser context, carrying a CVSS 3.1 score of 6.1 due to its network attack vector, low complexity, lack of required privileges, and changed scope with limited confidentiality and integrity impact.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue by crafting a malicious link or request that reflects attacker-controlled input back to a user who clicks it, resulting in script execution within the phpMyFAQ application domain. Successful exploitation allows limited data exposure or manipulation actions scoped to the affected user's session without broader system compromise.

Public references point to a fix merged in commit 97e813dcd2022bd10a8770569a8b02591716365f, which addresses the reflected XSS vector; administrators are advised to upgrade phpMyFAQ to version 3.2.2 or later. The associated huntr.com bounty entry documents the same remediation path.

EPSS values remain low with only minor fluctuation between the recorded peak of 0.0754 and current score of 0.0622, providing no indication of emerging exploitation interest.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Cross-site Scripting (XSS) - Reflected in GitHub repository thorsten/phpmyfaq prior to 3.2.2.

CWE(s)
CWE-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 →
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 →
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 →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-0794Same product: Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq
CVE-2023-5320Same product: Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq
CVE-2023-3469Same product: Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq
CVE-2023-0313Same product: Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq
CVE-2023-1761Same product: Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq
CVE-2023-2428Same product: Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq
CVE-2023-0309Same product: Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq
CVE-2023-6890Same product: Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq
CVE-2023-0306Same product: Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq
CVE-2023-1760Same product: Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq

Affected Assets

phpmyfaq
phpmyfaq
≤ 3.2.2

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
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).

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

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

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

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.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
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.

A.8.7 Protection against malware none match
none

Webpage malware scanning and block-listing of known malicious sites reduce the likelihood that reflected or stored script payloads reach a user’s browser.

References