Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2013-1951
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 · uneditedA cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in MediaWiki before 1.19.5 and 1.20.x before 1.20.4 and allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via Lua function names.
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 · high confidenceCross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in MediaWiki allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unsanitized Lua function names. The vulnerability exists in how MediaWiki handles and renders Lua function names in wiki pages, allowing script execution in the context of the user's browser.
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
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 9.0= 10.0< 1.19.5>= 1.20.0, < 1.20.4CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine MediaWiki version installedCheck the file includes/Defines.php for the MW_VERSION constant, or check the LocalSettings.php file for the $wgVersion variable. Alternatively, access the Special:Version page on the wiki if you have admin access.Affected if The version is less than 1.19.5, or between 1.20.0 and 1.20.4 inclusive.
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Verify Lua (Scribunto) extension is enabledCheck if the Scribunto extension is loaded by looking for 'require_once "$IP/extensions/Scribunto/Scribunto.php";' in LocalSettings.php, or check Special:Version page for the Scribunto/Lua engine.Affected if The Scribunto extension is loaded and enabled on the wiki.
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Confirm PHP Lua engine is availableCheck Special:Version page for the Lua interpreter status (usually Luajit or PHP Lua), or verify the $wgScribuntoDefaultEngine configuration in LocalSettings.php.Affected if A Lua engine is configured and functional.
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Check Debian package version if using system packagesRun 'dpkg -l mediawiki' or 'apt-cache policy mediawiki' on Debian systems to get the installed MediaWiki package version.Affected if Running Debian 9.0 or 10.0 with the bundled MediaWiki version matching the vulnerable range.
You are affected if MediaWiki version is < 1.19.5 or between 1.20.0-1.20.4 AND the Scribunto/Lua extension is enabled and functional.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data1.19.51.20.4
Upgrade MediaWiki to version 1.19.5 or later, or 1.20.4 or later. As an interim measure, disable or restrict Lua scripting if upgrading is not immediately feasible.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,512.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-1951 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-1951 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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