CVE-2023-4496
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 · uneditedEasy Chat Server, in its 3.1 version and before, does not sufficiently encrypt user-controlled inputs, resulting in a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability stored via /body2.ghp (POST method), in the mtowho parameter.
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 confidenceEasy Chat Server versions 3.1 and prior contain a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the /body2.ghp endpoint. The mtowho parameter accepts user-controlled input that is not properly sanitized or encoded before being stored and rendered to other users, allowing injection of malicious JavaScript code.
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<= 3.1CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Easy Chat Server is installedCheck for Easy Chat Server installation directory (commonly in C:\Program Files\Easy Chat Server or C:\inetpub\wwwroot\EasyChatServer) and verify the executable or web files existAffected if Easy Chat Server is installed on the system
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Confirm installed version is 3.1 or priorLocate the version information - check for a version file, About dialog in the application, or examine headers/meta tags if it's a web application. Compare against the affected range (<= 3.1)Affected if The installed version is 3.1 or any version prior to 3.1
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Verify the web service is runningCheck if the HTTP service hosting Easy Chat Server is active - attempt to access the application via browser or check if the associated web service (IIS, Apache, or built-in server) is runningAffected if The web interface is accessible and the application is running
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Check if /body2.ghp endpoint is exposedAccess the URL endpoint /body2.ghp (for example: http://localhost/body2.ghp or https://yourserver/body2.ghp) using a browser or HTTP client to confirm the endpoint exists and accepts requestsAffected if The /body2.ghp endpoint is accessible and responds to requests
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Inspect mtowho parameter handlingSubmit a test request to the /body2.ghp endpoint with a benign test string in the mtowho parameter, then check if that string is stored and reflected back without sanitization when the page is rendered to other usersAffected if The mtowho parameter accepts input and reflects it back without proper encoding or sanitization, allowing script execution
You are affected if Easy Chat Server version 3.1 or prior is installed and the /body2.ghp web endpoint is accessible with the mtowho parameter reflecting unsanitized 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 dataImplement output encoding/sanitization on the server side for the mtowho parameter before storing and displaying user input to prevent script execution.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-4496 — 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-2023-4496 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
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