CVE-2013-6455
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 · uneditedThe CentralAuth extension for MediaWiki before 1.19.10, 1.2x before 1.21.4, and 1.22.x before 1.22.1 allows remote attackers to obtain usernames via vectors related to writing the names to the DOM of a page.
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 confidenceThe CentralAuth extension for MediaWiki contains an information disclosure vulnerability that allows remote attackers to obtain usernames via vectors related to writing the names to the DOM of a page. This appears to be an XSS-based username disclosure issue where the extension improperly handles user data in the browser DOM.
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< 1.19.10>= 1.20.0, < 1.21.4>= 1.22.0, < 1.22.1CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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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Identify installed MediaWiki versionCheck the includes/Defines.php file or access /api.php?action=query&meta=siteinfo&format=json to retrieve the MediaWiki version numberAffected if The version is less than 1.19.10, OR between 1.20.0 and 1.21.3 inclusive, OR between 1.22.0 and 1.22.0 inclusive (1.22.1 is fixed)
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Verify CentralAuth extension is enabledCheck the LocalSettings.php file for the line 'wfLoadExtension( "CentralAuth" )' or look in the extensions/CentralAuth directory to confirm the extension is installedAffected if CentralAuth extension is loaded and active in the MediaWiki installation
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Confirm user authentication uses CentralAuthInspect the CentralAuth configuration in LocalSettings.php and verify that CentralAuth is handling user login sessions, typically indicated by $wgCentralAuthAutoload and $wgAuthManagerAutoAuth settingsAffected if CentralAuth is configured to manage user authentication or global accounts for the wiki
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Review DOM output for username handlingExamine the CentralAuth extension files (such as CentralAuth.i18n.php or CentralAuthHooks.php) for places where usernames are written to the page DOM without proper escaping, particularly in JavaScript contextsAffected if The installed CentralAuth code contains vulnerable code paths where user names could be inserted into the DOM unsanitized
Your environment is affected if you are running a MediaWiki version within the ranges listed and the CentralAuth extension is enabled and handling user authentication.
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 data1.19.101.21.41.22.1
Upgrade MediaWiki CentralAuth extension to version 1.19.10, 1.21.4, 1.22.1 or later to patch the username disclosure vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-6455 — 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-2013-6455 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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- 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