Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-32703 is a critical-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Openproject Openproject. Its CVSS base score is 9.0 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked at the 9th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); 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.
CVE-2026-32703 is a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability, classified under CWE-79, affecting the Repositories module in OpenProject, an open-source web-based project management software. The flaw arises from improper escaping of filenames displayed from repositories in versions prior to 16.6.9, 17.0.6, 17.1.3, and 17.2.1. This allows malicious HTML code embedded in filenames to be injected into web pages without sanitation, enabling persisted XSS attacks. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.0 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating critical severity due to its potential for high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts with changed scope.
An attacker with push access to a project repository can exploit this by creating commits with filenames containing malicious HTML or JavaScript payloads. When project members access the repositories page to view a changeset—such as one where the maliciously crafted file is deleted—the injected code executes in their browsers. This results in a persisted XSS attack targeting all authenticated members of the project who visit the affected page, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or further compromise depending on the payload.
The official advisory on GitHub (GHSA-p423-72h4-fjvp) confirms that the issue is fixed in OpenProject versions 16.6.9, 17.0.6, 17.1.3, and 17.2.1 through proper filename escaping. Security practitioners should urge users to upgrade to these patched versions immediately and review repository access controls to limit push privileges.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-12969
Vulnerability Data
OpenProject is an open-source, web-based project management software. In versions prior to 16.6.9, 17.0.6, 17.1.3, and 17.2.1, the Repositories module did not properly escape filenames displayed from repositories. This allowed an attacker with push access into the repository to create…
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commits with filenames that included HTML code that was injected in the page without proper sanitation. This allowed a persisted XSS attack against all members of this project that accessed the repositories page to display a changeset where the maliciously crafted file was deleted. Versions 16.6.9, 17.0.6, 17.1.3, and 17.2.1 fix the issue.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V1.1.2V1.3.2
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.
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).
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.
Secure-coding testing and automated code-analysis tools are applied to detect improper neutralization of script-related content during web-page generation.
Knowledge exchange on emerging attack techniques and patches reduces the likelihood that cross-site scripting flaws remain unaddressed in deployed applications.
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.
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.
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.
Webpage malware scanning and block-listing of known malicious sites reduce the likelihood that reflected or stored script payloads reach a user’s browser.