CVE-2025-32073
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 · uneditedImproper Input Validation vulnerability in The Wikimedia Foundation Mediawiki - HTML Tags allows Cross-Site Scripting (XSS).This issue affects Mediawiki - HTML Tags: from 1.39 through 1.43.
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 confidenceImproper input validation in MediaWiki's HTML tags functionality allows Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. The vulnerability affects MediaWiki versions 1.39 through 1.43 and stems from insufficient sanitization of user-supplied HTML content.
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
- 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.
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Identify MediaWiki versionCheck the version file or access Special:Version page. Alternatively, examine includes/DefaultSettings.php and look for $wgVersion variable.Affected if Installed version is 1.39, 1.40, 1.41, 1.42, or 1.43 (unpatched)
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Confirm HTML tags feature is enabledExamine LocalSettings.php for $wgRawHtml = true; or similar configuration that enables raw HTML input in user content.Affected if $wgRawHtml or equivalent HTML passthrough setting is enabled
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Verify HTML tags are used in contentSearch wiki pages, templates, or user profiles for use of <html> tags or raw HTML markup that could be supplied by users.Affected if Users can submit or edit content containing raw HTML tags
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Check for XSS payloads in logsReview web server access logs and MediaWiki debug logs for suspicious patterns like <script> tags, event handlers (onerror, onload), or javascript: URLs in user-contributed content.Affected if Malicious XSS vectors appear in recent page revisions or log entries
Environment is affected if running an unpatched MediaWiki version between 1.39 and 1.43 with the HTML tags feature enabled and users able to submit HTML content.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to a patched MediaWiki version (1.43.1 or later) or implement proper input validation and HTML sanitization for the HTML tags feature to prevent XSS exploitation.
MediaWiki 1.44 or later
- 1. Identify the current MediaWiki version by checking the includes/Defines.php file or running 'php maintenance/run.php evb_version' if available
- 2. Back up the MediaWiki database and all files before upgrading
- 3. Download MediaWiki 1.44 or later from https://www.mediawiki.org/
- 4. Replace the existing MediaWiki files with the new version, preserving local configuration (LocalSettings.php)
- 5. Run the update script: php maintenance/update.php
- 6. Clear all caches (including any CDN caches) to ensure no stale content remains
- 7. Test that the HTML Tags functionality works correctly and that the XSS vulnerability is no longer present
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,568.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-32073 — 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-2025-32073 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data