OpenprojectApplication

CVE-2026-23625

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.6.5 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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
OpenProject is an open-source, web-based project management software. Versions 16.3.0 through 16.6.4 are affected by a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in the Roadmap view. OpenProject’s roadmap view renders the “Related work packages” list for each version. When a version contains work packages from a different project (e.g., a subproject), the helper link_to_work_package prepends package.project.to_s to the link and returns the entire string with .html_safe. Because project names are user-controlled and no escaping happens before calling html_safe, any HTML placed in a subproject name is injected verbatim into the page. The underlying issue is mitigated in versions 16.6.5 and 17.0.0 by setting a `X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff` header, which was in place until a refactoring move to Rails standard content-security policy, which did not properly apply this header in the new configuration since OpenProject 16.3.0. Those who cannot upgrade their installations should ensure that they add a X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff header in their proxying web application server.

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

OpenProject versions 16.3.0-16.6.4 contain a stored XSS in the Roadmap view where user-controlled subproject names are rendered without escaping via .html_safe, allowing injection of malicious HTML/JavaScript.

MitigationUpgrade to 16.6.5/17.0.0 or add X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff header at the proxy/web server level.

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
OpenprojectApplication
Affected:> 16.3.0, < 16.6.5

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine OpenProject version
    Run 'openproject --version' or check the admin UI under Administration > Information, or inspect the Gemfile.lock for the openproject gem version
    Affected if Version is greater than 16.3.0 and less than 16.6.5
  2. Verify Roadmap module is accessible
    Navigate to a project and check if the Roadmap module is enabled under Project > Settings > Modules
    Affected if Roadmap module is enabled for any project
  3. Confirm subprojects feature is in use
    Check if any projects have subprojects created under Project > Settings > Information > Subprojects, or create a test subproject to verify the feature works
    Affected if Subprojects exist or can be created in the environment
  4. Inspect subproject name rendering in Roadmap view
    Create a subproject with a name containing HTML/JavaScript (e.g., '<script>alert(1)</script>'), then navigate to the parent project's Roadmap view and examine the page source to see if the script executes or appears unescaped
    Affected if The subproject name is rendered without HTML encoding in the Roadmap view

User is affected if OpenProject version is between 16.3.0 and 16.6.5 inclusive and the Roadmap module with subprojects is in use, allowing unescaped subproject names to be stored and rendered.

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 16.6.5 or later
Fixed in 16.6.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to 16.6.5/17.0.0 or add X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff header at the proxy/web server level.

Recommended fix High confidence

16.6.5 or 17.0.0

  1. 1. Back up your OpenProject database and configuration files before upgrading.
  2. 2. Follow the official OpenProject upgrade documentation for your installation method (package or Docker).
  3. 3. Upgrade to version 16.6.5 or 17.0.0, which contain the fix for this vulnerability.
  4. 4. After upgrade, verify the Roadmap view renders correctly and that the X-Content-Type-Options header is present in responses.
  5. 5. As an alternative mitigation if upgrading is not immediately possible, configure your reverse proxy (nginx, Apache, or other) to add the header `X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff` to all HTTP responses.

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

Fix this in Openproject 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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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-2026-23625 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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