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MediawikiCMS

CVE-2023-37251

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.39.3 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 the GoogleAnalyticsMetrics extension for MediaWiki through 1.39.3. The googleanalyticstrackurl parser function does not properly escape JavaScript in the onclick handler and does not prevent use of javascript: URLs.

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

The GoogleAnalyticsMetrics extension for MediaWiki contains a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the googleanalyticstrackurl parser function. The function fails to properly escape user-supplied JavaScript within onclick handlers and does not filter javascript: URLs, allowing injection of malicious scripts.

MitigationUpdate the GoogleAnalyticsMetrics extension to a patched version that implements proper output encoding using htmlspecialchars() for onclick attributes and rejects javascript: URLs in the URL validation logic.

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
MediawikiCMS
Affected:<= 1.39.3

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. Confirm GoogleAnalyticsMetrics extension is installed
    Check the MediaWiki extensions directory (typically /extensions/) or look for 'GoogleAnalyticsMetrics' in LocalSettings.php via $wgExtensionCredits or a grep for 'GoogleAnalyticsMetrics' in the configuration
    Affected if The extension directory exists or the extension is referenced in MediaWiki configuration files
  2. Identify the extension version
    Look for a version file or composer.json within the GoogleAnalyticsMetrics extension directory, or check any version comments in the main extension PHP files
    Affected if The installed version is unknown, unpatched, or at any version prior to the patched release (compare to the vendor advisory)
  3. Check if googleanalyticstrackurl parser function is registered and active
    Search the extension code for 'googleanalyticstrackurl' and verify it is registered as a parser function via $wgParserFunctions or similar MediaWiki registration, or look for its usage in pages
    Affected if The parser function is registered and available for use in wiki content
  4. Detect usage of the vulnerable parser function in wiki content
    Search wiki pages, templates, or modules for calls to {{#googleanalyticstrackurl:...}} or similar syntax that invokes the function with user-controllable input
    Affected if Pages or templates contain calls to this parser function with user-supplied URL or onclick parameters
  5. Verify if javascript: URLs are being processed
    Review the extension code to confirm whether URL validation rejects javascript: protocols, or test by attempting to pass a javascript: URL through the parser function
    Affected if The extension accepts and renders javascript: URLs without filtering or rejection

A user is affected if the GoogleAnalyticsMetrics extension is installed with the googleanalyticstrackurl parser function enabled and that function can be invoked with unsanitized user input containing javascript: URLs or unescaped JavaScript in onclick attributes.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.39.3
Interim mitigation

Update the GoogleAnalyticsMetrics extension to a patched version that implements proper output encoding using htmlspecialchars() for onclick attributes and rejects javascript: URLs in the URL validation logic.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

MediaWiki 1.39.4 or later (or GoogleAnalyticsMetrics extension version with fix)

  1. Identify the GoogleAnalyticsMetrics extension in your MediaWiki installation
  2. Upgrade the GoogleAnalyticsMetrics extension to the latest version that includes the security fix for CVE-2023-37251
  3. After upgrading, verify that the googleanalyticstrackurl parser function properly escapes JavaScript in onclick handlers and blocks javascript: URLs
  4. Clear any caches and test the implementation

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Mediawiki Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-37251 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