Mattermost ServerApplication · Mattermost

CVE-2017-18880

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-06-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.1.2 / 4.2.1 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
An issue was discovered in Mattermost Server before 4.3.0, 4.2.1, and 4.1.2. XSS could occur via the title_link field of a Slack attachment.

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

A stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in Mattermost Server versions prior to 4.3.0, 4.2.1, and 4.1.2. The vulnerability stems from insufficient sanitization of the title_link field within Slack attachments, allowing an attacker to inject malicious JavaScript that executes when other users view the attachment.

MitigationUpgrade Mattermost Server to version 4.3.0 or later (or to 4.2.1/4.1.2 as appropriate for each affected branch). Additionally, implement output encoding for the title_link field to prevent script execution.

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
Mattermost ServerApplication
Affected:< 4.1.2>= 4.2.0, < 4.2.1= 4.3.0

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. Check Mattermost Server version
    Run 'grep -i version /path/to/mattermost/config/config.json' or check the system console under About > Mattermost for the version number
    Affected if The installed version is less than 4.1.2, OR between 4.2.0 and 4.2.1 (exclusive of 4.2.1), OR equal to 4.3.0
  2. Determine if Slack integration is enabled
    Navigate to System Console > Integrations > Slack and check if the 'Enable Slack import' or Slack webhook settings are enabled, or inspect the config.json for 'EnableSlackImport' or webhook settings
    Affected if Slack integration is enabled and users can import or post Slack attachments
  3. Check for existing Slack attachments in posts
    Search the database (SQL query: SELECT * FROM Posts WHERE type = 'slack_attachment' OR message LIKE '%attachments%') or review recent posts that may contain imported Slack content
    Affected if Slack attachments exist in the system, particularly any with a title_link field populated

You are affected if your Mattermost Server version falls within the vulnerable range AND Slack integration is enabled or Slack attachments have been imported into channels.

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 4.1.2 / 4.2.1 or later
Fixed in 4.1.24.2.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Mattermost Server to version 4.3.0 or later (or to 4.2.1/4.1.2 as appropriate for each affected branch). Additionally, implement output encoding for the title_link field to prevent script execution.

Fix this in Mattermost Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-18880 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-18880 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