CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-91122NVD status: Deferred

discourse: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-91122 is a high-severity improper neutralization of input during web page generation vulnerability in discourse, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.7 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, but only if a user takes part, for example by opening a link or file. Affected discourse versions: < 2026.8.0; >= 2026.7.0-latest, < 2026.7.2; >= 2026.6.0-latest, < 2026.6.3, and others listed below. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.26% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of discourse you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. Because the attack needs a user to take part, warn users about unexpected links and files related to this product until it is patched.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Discoursediscourse< 2026.8.0; >= 2026.7.0-latest, < 2026.7.2; >= 2026.6.0-latest, < 2026.6.3; >= 2026.1.0-latest, < 2026.1.8Not stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
RequiredA user must take an action such as opening a file or link.
Scope
ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
NoneAvailability is not affected.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N. Scored by CNA (github.com).

Official description

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to 2026.1.8, 2026.6.3, 2026.7.2, and 2026.8.0, the video placeholder component allowed crafted HTML to cause an attribute breakout and inject an attacker-controlled event handler. An authenticated user with default trust-level posting privileges could store the crafted placeholder in a post. When another user opened the post and clicked the video play overlay, the handler could execute arbitrary JavaScript in the viewer's session. Default Content Security Policy settings block inline event handlers, but instances with CSP disabled or relaxed could allow the script to read page content and make authenticated requests as the viewer. This issue is fixed in versions 2026.1.8, 2026.6.3, 2026.7.2, and 2026.8.0.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation

The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. Examples of libraries and frameworks that make it easier to generate properly encoded output include Microsoft's Anti-XSS library, the OWASP ESAPI Encoding module, and Apache Wicket.
  • Understand all the potential areas where untrusted inputs can enter your software: parameters or arguments, cookies, anything read from the network, environment variables, reverse DNS lookups, query results, request headers, URL components, e-mail, files, filenames, databases, and any external systems that provide data to the application. Remember that such inputs may be obtained indirectly through API calls.
  • For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.

More Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation vulnerabilities (CWE-79)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).

References

Other vulnerabilities in discourse

All discourse vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation vulnerabilities

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