Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-27616

XSS in Vikunja ≤ 2.0.0

Public PoCXSS
Published
25 February 2026
Modified
05 March 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0045 37th percentile
Risk Priority 54 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-27616 is a high-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Vikunja Vikunja. Its CVSS base score is 7.3 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked at the 37th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); 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 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.

CVE-2026-27616 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability, classified under CWE-79, affecting Vikunja, an open-source self-hosted task management platform. Prior to version 2.0.0, Vikunja permits users to upload SVG files as task attachments without sanitizing their content. SVG, an XML-based format, supports JavaScript execution through elements like <script> tags or event handlers such as onload. When an uploaded SVG is accessed via its direct URL, it renders inline in the browser under the application's origin, allowing embedded JavaScript to execute in the context of the authenticated user. The vulnerability was published on 2026-02-25 and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.3 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N).

An attacker with low privileges (PR:L), such as any authenticated user, can exploit this by uploading a malicious SVG file containing JavaScript payloads as a task attachment. Exploitation requires a victim user (also authenticated) to interact by accessing the SVG's direct URL (UI:R), at which point the JavaScript executes in the victim's browser session. This grants access to the victim's authentication token stored in localStorage, enabling the attacker to exfiltrate it and potentially impersonate the victim for further actions, resulting in high confidentiality and integrity impacts.

The official GitHub security advisory (GHSA-7jp5-298q-jg98) documents the issue, including a proof-of-concept in an attached PDF. Vikunja's changelog confirms that version 2.0.0 patches the vulnerability by addressing SVG content sanitization during uploads. Security practitioners should advise upgrading to version 2.0.0 or later to mitigate the risk.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Vikunja is an open-source self-hosted task management platform. Prior to version 2.0.0, the application allows users to upload SVG files as task attachments. SVG is an XML-based format that supports JavaScript execution through elements such as <script> tags or event…

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handlers like onload. The application does not sanitize SVG content before storing it. When the uploaded SVG file is accessed via its direct URL, it is rendered inline in the browser under the application's origin. As a result, embedded JavaScript executes in the context of the authenticated user. Because the authentication token is stored in localStorage, it is accessible via JavaScript and can be retrieved by a malicious payload. Version 2.0.0 patches this issue.

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-2023-25837Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-22438Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-27614Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-47164Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-49145Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-47853Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-28474Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-37636Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-1006Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-5005Shared CWE-79

Affected Assets

vikunja
vikunja
≤ 2.0.0

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

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.

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.

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.

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