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

CVE-2025-61872

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-24
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
Mahara before 25.04.2 and 24.04.11 are vulnerable to displaying results that can trigger XSS via a malicious search query string. This occurs in the 'search site' feature when using the Elasticsearch7 search plugin. The Elasticsearch function does not properly sanitize input in the query 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 confidence

Mahara before versions 25.04.2 and 24.04.11 contains a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the 'search site' feature when using the Elasticsearch7 search plugin. The Elasticsearch function fails to properly sanitize user input in the query parameter, allowing malicious script execution when search results are displayed.

MitigationUpgrade Mahara to version 25.04.2 or 24.04.11 or later to resolve the unsanitized input vulnerability in the Elasticsearch7 search plugin.

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. Locate the Mahara version file
    Find the version.php file in your Mahara installation root or check the database for version information in the config table.
    Affected if The installed version is below 24.04.11 or between 24.04.11 and 25.04.2 (exclusive)
  2. Compare installed version to affected ranges
    Read the version number from the identified file or database entry and compare it to 25.04.2 and 24.04.11.
    Affected if Version is less than 24.04.11 OR version is 24.04.11 to 25.04.1 (any version below 25.04.2 but at or above 24.04.11)
  3. Identify if Elasticsearch7 plugin is installed
    Check the htdocs/search/elasticsearch7 directory exists in your Mahara installation, or query the search_installed table in the database for the elasticsearch7 entry.
    Affected if The Elasticsearch7 plugin directory or database entry exists in your installation
  4. Verify Elasticsearch7 search plugin is enabled
    Check the search_config table or the Administration > Extensions > Search plugins interface to confirm Elasticsearch7 is active and set as the search engine.
    Affected if Elasticsearch7 is listed as installed and enabled in the search plugin configuration
  5. Confirm search site feature uses Elasticsearch7
    Navigate to Site options > Search and verify that Elasticsearch7 is selected as the active search plugin for the 'search site' functionality.
    Affected if Elasticsearch7 is configured as the active search engine for site-wide searches

Your environment is affected if Mahara version is below 25.04.2 (or below 24.04.11 for the 24.x branch) AND the Elasticsearch7 search plugin is enabled and active for the search site feature.

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

Upgrade Mahara to version 25.04.2 or 24.04.11 or later to resolve the unsanitized input vulnerability in the Elasticsearch7 search plugin.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Mahara 25.04.2 or 24.04.11

  1. 1. Backup your Mahara installation and database before upgrading.
  2. 2. Download Mahara version 25.04.2 or 24.04.11 from the official Mahara repository (mahara.org).
  3. 3. Replace your existing Mahara files with the files from the new version, preserving your config.php and any custom data directories.
  4. 4. Run the upgrade script by accessing your Mahara site - it should automatically detect and apply database upgrades.
  5. 5. Clear all caches (site cache, theme cache, etc.) after the upgrade.
  6. 6. Verify the Elasticsearch7 search plugin is functioning correctly and test the 'search site' feature with various query inputs.
  7. 7. Confirm the XSS vulnerability is remediated by attempting to inject malicious script in the search query parameter.
Caveat Review release notes for your target version to check for any breaking changes or required migration steps before upgrading

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,780
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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-2025-61872 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