CVE-2023-25836
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 · uneditedThere is a Cross-site Scripting vulnerability in Esri Portal for ArcGIS Sites in versions 10.9 and below that may allow a remote, authenticated attacker to create a crafted link which when clicked could potentially execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the victims browser. The privileges required to execute this attack are low.
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 confidenceA Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in Esri Portal for ArcGIS Sites (versions 10.9 and below) where an authenticated attacker with low privileges can create a crafted link containing malicious JavaScript. When a victim clicks this link, the embedded JavaScript executes in the victim's browser, potentially allowing session hijacking, data theft, or actions on behalf of the user.
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>= 10.8.1, <= 10.9CVSS 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:3.1/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 Esri Portal for ArcGIS installed versionAccess the ArcGIS Portal Administrator Directory (typically at https://[hostname]/arcgis/portal/admin) and navigate to the System > Properties > Update Security Configuration page, or check the About page in the portal website. Alternatively, locate the portal version file in the installation directory or check the Windows Registry (HKLM\SOFTWARE\ESRI\Portal for ArcGIS) on Windows deployments.Affected if Installed version is 10.8.1, 10.9, or any version between 10.8.1 and 10.9 inclusive.
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Verify Sites application is enabledLog in to the portal as an administrator and navigate to Organization > Settings > Pages. Alternatively, check if the Sites application is accessible by visiting /arcgis/home/sites.html or attempting to create a site through the interface.Affected if The Sites feature is enabled and accessible to users.
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Confirm low-privilege user access existsNavigate to Organization > Members in the portal and verify that users exist with privileges below Administrator level (such as User, Content Creator, or custom roles with limited permissions). Check if these users have access to create or edit Sites content.Affected if Low-privilege authenticated users can access and create content within the Sites application.
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Inspect Site creation interface for input validationLog in as a low-privilege user, attempt to create a new Site, and examine the input fields for title, description, or content areas. Look for evidence of missing output encoding by entering test characters like <script>alert(1)</script> or <img src=x onerror=alert(1)> in text fields.Affected if User-supplied content in Site fields is rendered without proper encoding or sanitization, allowing script injection.
You are affected if your Esri Portal for ArcGIS version is between 10.8.1 and 10.9 inclusive, the Sites application is enabled, and low-privilege users can create or edit Site content without proper input sanitization.
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 a patched version of Esri Portal for ArcGIS (10.9.1 or later) if available; otherwise implement output encoding and input validation on all user-supplied content within the Sites application.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-25836 — 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-2023-25836 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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