Portal For ArcgisApplication · Esri

CVE-2023-25831

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
There is a reflected XSS vulnerability in Esri Portal for ArcGIS versions 10.9.1and below which may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to create a crafted link which when clicked could potentially execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the victim’s browser.

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 confidence

Reflected XSS vulnerability in Esri Portal for ArcGIS versions 10.9.1 and below allows remote unauthenticated attackers to craft malicious links that execute arbitrary JavaScript in victim browsers when clicked.

MitigationApply Esri security patch or upgrade to version 10.9.2 or later; alternatively, deploy WAF rules to sanitize or block XSS payloads in URL query parameters until official patch can be applied.

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
Portal For ArcgisApplication
Affected:= 10.7.1= 10.8.1= 10.9.1

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. Identify installed Portal for ArcGIS version
    Log into ArcGIS Portal Administrator Directory and navigate to System > Properties > Get Properties, or check the About page in the Portal website. The version is displayed in the 'portalVersion' or 'about' section.
    Affected if The installed version is 10.7.1, 10.8.1, or 10.9.1, or any version below 10.9.1.
  2. Confirm external web access to Portal
    Verify whether the Esri Portal for ArcGIS web interface is accessible from external networks. Check firewall rules, reverse proxy configuration, or VPN settings that control access to the Portal URL.
    Affected if The Portal web interface is exposed to unauthenticated (anonymous) users on the network, allowing remote attackers to deliver malicious links.
  3. Review URL parameters in Portal logs
    Examine HTTP access logs for the Portal web server for unusual query parameters that may indicate XSS probing. Look for patterns like '<script', 'javascript:', 'onerror=', or other HTML/script tags in URL query strings.
    Affected if Suspicious XSS payload patterns appear in the URL query parameters of incoming requests to the Portal.
  4. Check for recent malicious link activity
    Interview users or review security monitoring tools for reports of unexpected JavaScript execution, browser warnings, or phishing complaints related to Esri Portal URLs.
    Affected if Users have reported unexpected script execution or unusual browser behavior after clicking links to the Portal.

The environment is affected if Esri Portal for ArcGIS is running version 10.9.1 or below and the web interface is accessible to unauthenticated remote users who could be targeted with malicious links.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Esri security patch or upgrade to version 10.9.2 or later; alternatively, deploy WAF rules to sanitize or block XSS payloads in URL query parameters until official patch can be applied.

Fix this in Portal For Arcgis Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-25831 — 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-2023-25831 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