CVE-2023-4493
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 · uneditedStored Cross-Site Scripting in Easy Address Book Web Server 1.6 version, through the users_admin.ghp file that affects multiple parameters such as (firstname, homephone, lastname, lastname, middlename, workaddress, workcity, workcountry, workphone, workstate, workzip). This vulnerability allows a remote attacker to store a malicious JavaScript payload in the application to be executed when the page is loaded, resulting in an integrity impact.
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 confidenceStored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability in Easy Address Book Web Server 1.6 allows remote attackers to inject malicious JavaScript payloads through multiple user profile fields (firstname, homephone, lastname, middlename, workaddress, workcity, workcountry, workphone, workstate, workzip) via the users_admin.ghp file. The injected scripts execute when other users view the affected pages, leading to session hijacking or credential theft.
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= 1.6CVSS 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.
-
Confirm Easy Address Book Web Server versionLocate the application installation directory and check for version identifiers in application files, headers, or configuration. Common locations include the main executable, readme.txt, or version.info within the program directory.Affected if The installed version is exactly 1.6
-
Verify users_admin.ghp existsSearch the web server document root or application directory for the file users_admin.ghp. This is the PHP include file that handles the user administration functionality.Affected if The file users_admin.ghp is present in the application directory
-
Confirm user profile editing is accessibleCheck if the web application exposes endpoints that allow editing user profile fields (firstname, lastname, middlename, homephone, workphone, workaddress, workcity, workstate, workzip, workcountry). Attempt to access the user profile creation or editing interface via the web browser.Affected if User profile fields are accessible and editable through the web interface
-
Identify if input validation is absentSubmit test input containing HTML or script tags (for example, <script>alert(1)</script>) into any of the profile fields (firstname, lastname, etc.) via the web interface. Then view the profile to see if the raw tags render or execute.Affected if Submitted HTML or script tags are reflected unescaped when viewing the user profile
If Easy Address Book Web Server version 1.6 is installed and the users_admin.ghp file handles user profile fields without proper sanitization, the stored XSS vulnerability is present.
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 dataImplement strict input validation and context-aware output encoding for all user-supplied fields in the address book application. Additionally, apply Content-Security-Policy headers and HTTPOnly flags on session cookies to mitigate XSS impact.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-4493 — 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-2023-4493 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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