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CodeigniterApplication

CVE-2012-1915

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-01-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
EllisLab CodeIgniter 2.1.2 allows remote attackers to bypass the xss_clean() Filter and perform XSS attacks.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

EllisLab CodeIgniter 2.1.2 contains a vulnerability in its xss_clean() filter function that can be bypassed by remote attackers, allowing them to inject malicious scripts and perform cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks against users of applications using this framework.

MitigationUpgrade CodeIgniter to the latest patched version or apply available security patches. Additionally, implement output encoding and supplementary XSS protection measures as defense-in-depth.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
CodeigniterApplication
Affected:< 2.1.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed CodeIgniter version
    Locate the CodeIgniter version file (typically system/core/CodeIgniter.php or a VERSION file in the system directory) and read the version number defined within it
    Affected if The version number is lower than 2.1.2 (for example 2.1.0, 2.1.1, 2.0.x, or earlier releases)
  2. Confirm xss_clean() is in use
    Search application code for calls to xss_clean() function, typically found in controllers, models, or libraries where user input is processed
    Affected if The application actively uses xss_clean() to filter HTML or script output from user-supplied data
  3. Verify user input flows through xss_clean()
    Trace the data flow from input sources (GET, POST, COOKIE parameters) through xss_clean() in the application logic to confirm unsanitized input can reach the vulnerable function
    Affected if User-controllable data passes through xss_clean() before being output to web pages

You are affected if your CodeIgniter installation is version 2.1.1 or earlier AND your application uses xss_clean() to filter user input that is later displayed in web pages.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.1.2 or later
Fixed in 2.1.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade CodeIgniter to the latest patched version or apply available security patches. Additionally, implement output encoding and supplementary XSS protection measures as defense-in-depth.

Fix this in Codeigniter Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-1915 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data