CVE-2020-25768
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 · uneditedContao before 4.4.52, 4.9.x before 4.9.6, and 4.10.x before 4.10.1 have Improper Input Validation. It is possible to inject insert tags in front end forms which will be replaced when the page is rendered.
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 confidenceContao CMS versions before 4.4.52, 4.9.6, and 4.10.1 have improper input validation that allows injection of malicious insert tags into front-end forms. These injected tags are stored and subsequently executed/replaced when the page is rendered, potentially enabling XSS or unintended content injection.
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>= 4.0, < 4.4.52>= 4.9.0, < 4.9.6>= 4.10.0, < 4.10.1CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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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Identify installed Contao versionCheck the file 'contao/manager-bundle/composer.json' or the version file in the vendor directory. Alternatively, look for a version marker file in the system installation directory.Affected if The installed version falls within these ranges: 4.0 to 4.4.51, 4.9.0 to 4.9.5, or 4.10.0 to 4.10.0.
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Determine if front-end forms are in useReview the Contao back end under 'Form generator' to see if any forms have been created and are published on the front end.Affected if Any published forms exist that accept user input and store submissions.
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Inspect form field configurationOpen each active form in the Contao back-end form generator and examine the field types. Look for text, textarea, or similar input fields where users can enter free-form content.Affected if Forms contain input fields that accept unrestricted text entry without explicit input validation rules.
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Check for injected insert tags in stored form dataQuery the database table 'tl_form' for form configurations and examine stored submissions in the related data table. Look for patterns like '{{' and '}}' within form submission values.Affected if Form submissions contain insert tag syntax (strings with '{{' and '}}') that were not intentionally added by administrators.
A user is affected if their Contao installation version is below 4.4.52, 4.9.6, or 4.10.1 AND they have published front-end forms that accept user input.
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 data4.4.524.9.64.10.1
Upgrade Contao to version 4.4.52, 4.9.6, 4.10.1 or later which include proper input validation for insert tags in forms. Test form functionality after upgrade.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-25768 — 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-2020-25768 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