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Cross-site Scripting (XSS)Weakness · CWE-79

CVE-2025-23081

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation (XSS or 'Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Wikimedia Foundation Mediawiki - DataTransfer Extension allows Cross Site Request Forgery, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS).This issue affects Mediawiki - DataTransfer Extension: from 1.39.X before 1.39.11, from 1.41.X before 1.41.3, from 1.42.X before 1.42.2.

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

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) combined with XSS vulnerability in the MediaWiki DataTransfer Extension. The vulnerability allows attackers to craft malicious requests that can trick authenticated users into executing unintended actions or having malicious scripts execute in their browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking or data theft.

MitigationUpdate MediaWiki DataTransfer Extension to version 1.39.11, 1.41.3, or 1.42.2 or later to patch the vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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 DataTransfer extension is installed
    Log in to MediaWiki as an administrator and navigate to Special:Version, or check for the extensions/DataTransfer directory in your MediaWiki installation
    Affected if The DataTransfer extension is listed as installed or the directory exists
  2. Identify the DataTransfer extension version
    Check Special:Version in MediaWiki for the DataTransfer extension version, or examine the version file in the extension directory if accessible
    Affected if Unable to determine the version or version is earlier than 1.39.11, 1.41.3, or 1.42.2
  3. Compare installed version against fixed releases
    Review the version identified in the previous step and compare it to the known vulnerable versions: anything below 1.39.11, below 1.41.3, or below 1.42.2 is affected
    Affected if The installed version is 1.39.10 or lower, 1.41.2 or lower, or 1.42.1 or lower
  4. Verify the extension is accessible to users
    Confirm that the DataTransfer extension functionality is accessible to authenticated users on the wiki (the CSRF exploit requires a user to be logged in)
    Affected if Authenticated users can access the DataTransfer extension features

You are affected if the DataTransfer extension is installed and its version is 1.39.10 or earlier, 1.41.2 or earlier, or 1.42.1 or earlier.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update MediaWiki DataTransfer Extension to version 1.39.11, 1.41.3, or 1.42.2 or later to patch the vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

DataTransfer Extension 1.39.11 (for 1.39.x), 1.41.3 (for 1.41.x), or 1.42.2 (for 1.42.x)

  1. 1. Backup your MediaWiki installation and database before making any changes
  2. 2. Identify your current MediaWiki version by checking Special:Version on your wiki
  3. 3. For MediaWiki 1.39.x: Upgrade the DataTransfer extension to version 1.39.11 or later
  4. 4. For MediaWiki 1.41.x: Upgrade the DataTransfer extension to version 1.41.3 or later
  5. 5. For MediaWiki 1.42.x: Upgrade the DataTransfer extension to version 1.42.2 or later
  6. 6. Update the extension via your package manager (e.g., Composer) or by downloading the specific version from gerrit.wikimedia.org
  7. 7. Run the MediaWiki update script (php maintenance/update.php) if required by the extension
  8. 8. Clear the MediaWiki object cache (php maintenance/clearCache.php)
Caveat Standard extension upgrade - review release notes for any configuration changes; test in staging before production deployment

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2025-23081 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