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

CVE-2026-38948

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in FUEL CMS v1.5.2 and before within the asset upload functionality. The application fails to properly sanitize uploaded SVG files, allowing a low-privileged authenticated user to upload a crafted SVG file containing malicious code.

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 confidence

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in FUEL CMS v1.5.2 and prior where the asset upload functionality fails to sanitize SVG files. Low-privileged authenticated users can upload crafted SVG files containing malicious JavaScript that executes when the file is viewed or accessed by other users.

MitigationImplement SVG file sanitization/stripping of script tags and event handlers during upload, or serve uploaded SVG files with Content-Disposition: attachment header and proper Content-Type to prevent in-browser rendering of embedded scripts.

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 checks

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

  1. Identify FUEL CMS installation and version
    Locate the FUEL CMS installation directory and check the version file (typically found in fuel/application/config/constants.php or a VERSION file in the root directory)
    Affected if The installed version is 1.5.2 or any prior version
  2. Verify if asset upload module is enabled
    Check the FUEL CMS configuration files (fuel/application/config/config.php or fuel/application/config/MY_fuel_modules.php) to confirm the assets module is not disabled
    Affected if The assets module is enabled and accessible
  3. Confirm low-privileged user access to asset upload
    Log in as a low-privileged user (non-admin) and navigate to the assets/upload section, or inspect user permission configurations in the FUEL admin settings
    Affected if Users with limited permissions can access and use the asset upload feature
  4. Test SVG file upload capability
    Attempt to upload a test SVG file through the asset upload interface at /fuel/assets/items/upload or /fuel/assets/create
    Affected if SVG file uploads are accepted and the file is stored in the assets directory
  5. Inspect how uploaded SVG files are served
    Upload an SVG file and access it via the browser, then use browser developer tools or a HEAD request to inspect the Content-Type and Content-Disposition headers returned by the server
    Affected if The SVG is served with Content-Type: image/svg+xml and lacks Content-Disposition: attachment, allowing inline rendering in browsers

A user is affected if they are running FUEL CMS version 1.5.2 or prior, have the asset upload feature enabled for low-privileged users, and uploaded SVG files are served inline without sanitization.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement SVG file sanitization/stripping of script tags and event handlers during upload, or serve uploaded SVG files with Content-Disposition: attachment header and proper Content-Type to prevent in-browser rendering of embedded scripts.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2026-38948 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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