CVE-2019-3923
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 · uneditedNessus versions 8.2.1 and earlier were found to contain a stored XSS vulnerability due to improper validation of user-supplied input. An authenticated, remote attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability via a specially crafted request to execute arbitrary script code in a user's browser session. Tenable has released Nessus 8.2.2 to address this issue.
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 confidenceNessus versions 8.2.1 and earlier contain a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability due to improper validation of user-supplied input. An authenticated, remote attacker can exploit this by sending specially crafted requests that cause arbitrary JavaScript code to execute in the browsers of other users viewing the affected content.
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<= 8.2.1CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 Nessus versionAccess the Nessus web interface and view the 'About' page in the top-right menu, or run 'nessuscli --version' from the command lineAffected if The displayed version is 8.2.1 or earlier
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Verify web interface accessibilityConfirm the Nessus web interface (typically port 8834) is accessible to users or network segmentsAffected if The web interface is exposed without proper access controls, increasing attack surface
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Review authentication settingsCheck that Nessus requires valid authentication for all users and that weak or default credentials are not in useAffected if Multiple users with varying privilege levels access Nessus, as the XSS affects other users viewing injected content
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Examine audit and access logsSearch Nessus logs and web server access logs for unusual HTTP requests, especially those containing script tags or suspicious URL patterns in user-supplied fieldsAffected if Logs show unexpected requests with potentially malicious input that could indicate exploitation attempts
You are affected if your installed Nessus version is 8.2.1 or earlier and the web interface is accessible to authenticated users who could inject malicious content.
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 dataUpgrade to Nessus 8.2.2 or later to address the stored XSS vulnerability.
- Consultation3.0 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 $2,832.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-3923 — 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-2019-3923 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