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Joomla\!Application · Joomla

CVE-2024-27186

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-08-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.4.7 / 5.1.3 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
The mail template feature lacks an escaping mechanism, causing XSS vectors in multiple extensions.

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

A cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in the mail template feature where user-supplied content is rendered without proper escaping. This allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute when the template is viewed, affecting multiple extensions that utilize this feature.

MitigationImplement proper output encoding/escaping in the mail template rendering logic, and validate/sanitize all user input before it enters templates.

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
Joomla\!Application
Affected:>= 4.0.0, < 4.4.7>= 5.0.0, < 5.1.3

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. Determine your Joomla version
    Navigate to System > Information > Joomla! Information in the admin panel, or check the libraries/cms.php file for the VERSION constant.
    Affected if The version is >= 4.0.0 and < 4.4.7, or >= 5.0.0 and < 5.1.3
  2. Locate the mail template configuration
    In the admin panel, go to Components > Mail Templates, or inspect the #__mail_templates database table if you have database access.
    Affected if Mail templates exist in the system, indicating the feature is in use
  3. Examine mail template contents
    Review the template subject and body fields in Components > Mail Templates for each template, or query the database table for template content that may contain script tags or other HTML.
    Affected if Any mail template contains unsanitized user-supplied content with script tags, event handlers, or other XSS payloads
  4. Check for custom plugin overrides
    Inspect the /plugins/system/mail/ directory for any custom modifications to the mail template rendering logic, or review overrides in /templates/system/html/com_mail/.
    Affected if Custom overrides exist that bypass the standard escaping in mail template rendering

You are affected if your Joomla version falls within the vulnerable ranges and you have mail templates configured with unsanitized content that could execute malicious scripts when viewed.

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 4.4.7 / 5.1.3 or later
Fixed in 4.4.75.1.3
Interim mitigation

Implement proper output encoding/escaping in the mail template rendering logic, and validate/sanitize all user input before it enters templates.

Recommended fix High confidence

Joomla 4.4.7 or Joomla 5.1.3 (depending on your major version branch)

  1. 1. Create a complete backup of your Joomla site (database and files) before proceeding
  2. 2. Navigate to the Joomla Administrator dashboard
  3. 3. Go to System > Update > Joomla Update (or check for updates in the control panel)
  4. 4. If the update to version 4.4.7 (for Joomla 4.x) or 5.1.3 (for Joomla 5.x) is not detected automatically, download the update package directly from the official Joomla! Downloads page (https://downloads.joomla.org)
  5. 5. Install the update through Extensions > Manage > Install by uploading the package, or use the 'Upload & Update' button in the Joomla Update component
  6. 6. After installation, clear any caching systems (Joomla cache, CDN cache, browser cache)
  7. 7. Verify the update was successful by checking the version in System > Information > Joomla! Version
Caveat Minor version updates typically have no breaking changes; review the Joomla release notes for any specific considerations

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

Fix this in Joomla\! Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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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-2024-27186 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