Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-1883

XSS in Papercut Mf ≤ 20.1.10

High EPSSXSS
Published
14 March 2024
Modified
17 June 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
EPSS Score 0.61 99.1th percentile
Risk Priority 72 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-1883 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Equivalent Special Elements (CWE-76) vulnerability in Papercut Papercut Mf. Its CVSS base score is 6.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked in the top 0.9% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — 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.

This is a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability affecting the PaperCut NG/MF application server. The weakness, tracked under CWE-79 and CWE-76, allows an attacker to supply a script within a URL that executes in the victim's browser context when the link is visited.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the flaw by crafting a malicious URL and enticing an unsuspecting user to click it. Successful exploitation results in limited loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability, consistent with the CVSS 6.3 rating that requires user interaction but no prior authentication.

The associated EPSS score rose from lower values to a peak of 0.4524 on 2025-12-11 before receding to the current 0.1126, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest after disclosure. PaperCut's March 2024 security bulletin provides official guidance on the issue.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

This is a reflected cross site scripting vulnerability in the PaperCut NG/MF application server. An attacker can exploit this weakness by crafting a malicious URL that contains a script. When an unsuspecting user clicks on this malicious link, it could…

more

potentially lead to limited loss of confidentiality, integrity or availability.

CWE(s)
CWE-76CWE-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 →
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
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.

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Affected Assets

papercut
papercut mf
≤ 20.1.10 · 21.0.0 — 21.2.14 · 22.0.0 — 22.1.5
papercut
papercut ng
≤ 20.1.10 · 21.0.0 — 21.2.14 · 22.0.0 — 22.1.5

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

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

SA-11 requires developer testing and evaluation that can discover failures to neutralize equivalent special elements.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

SI-10 requires validation of information inputs, directly stopping incomplete neutralization of equivalent special elements.

SI-15 Information Output Filtering good match

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

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

SA-8 mandates security engineering principles such as complete input validation and sanitization that cover equivalent special-element forms.

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 consistent neutralization of all equivalent special elements during input validation and sanitization.

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

Security testing can detect incomplete neutralization but does not prevent the weakness itself.

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 development life cycle mandates input validation and neutralization of all equivalent special elements.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements include rules for handling special characters and equivalent encodings.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure system architecture principles require consistent canonicalization and neutralization of equivalent inputs.

References