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Joomla\!Application · Joomla

CVE-2026-48951

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.7 / 6.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 6 weeks old

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
Lack of escaping leads to XSS vulnerabilities in modalreturn layouts of various components.

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 exists in modalreturn layouts of multiple components due to insufficient output encoding. User-supplied data rendered in modal dialogs is not properly escaped, allowing injection of malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers.

MitigationImplement context-appropriate output encoding/escaping for all user-controlled data rendered in modalreturn layouts. Apply framework-provided escaping functions or use a vetted encoding library appropriate for the output context (HTML, JavaScript, URL).

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
Joomla\!Application
Affected:>= 4.0.0, < 5.4.7>= 6.0.0, < 6.1.2

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. Identify installed Joomla version
    Access the Administrator dashboard and navigate to System > Information, or locate the version.php file in the /libraries/cms/version.php or /libraries/src/Version.php path and read the VERSION constant
    Affected if The installed version falls within 4.0.0 to 5.4.6 OR 6.0.0 to 6.1.1
  2. Identify components with modalreturn layouts
    Search the /components/ directory for files or folders named 'modalreturn' or inspect component view files for references to 'modalreturn' layout type
    Affected if Any third-party or core component uses modalreturn layouts to display user-supplied data
  3. Inspect modalreturn layout files for encoding
    Open the modalreturn layout files (typically in tmpl/ folder within component views) and examine how user-controlled data is rendered - look for raw echo statements or variables outputting directly into HTML context
    Affected if User input fields are rendered without proper escaping functions such as htmlspecialchars or equivalent Joomla escaping methods
  4. Check for user-controllable data in modal contexts
    Review forms or data sources that feed into modalreturn layouts - identify any parameters that accept user input and are displayed back in modal dialogs
    Affected if User-supplied data from request parameters, user profiles, or database fields is displayed in modalreturn layouts without sanitization
  5. Verify admin user access to components with modalreturn
    Check if any component with modalreturn layouts is accessible to users with lower privileges (such as Registered or Author level) who can inject malicious scripts
    Affected if Modalreturn layouts are accessible to users who can input data that gets rendered in modal dialogs viewed by other users

A user is affected if their Joomla installation version is 4.0.0 through 5.4.6 or 6.0.0 through 6.1.1 AND they have any components using modalreturn layouts that render user-supplied data without output encoding.

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 5.4.7 / 6.1.2 or later
Fixed in 5.4.76.1.2
Interim mitigation

Implement context-appropriate output encoding/escaping for all user-controlled data rendered in modalreturn layouts. Apply framework-provided escaping functions or use a vetted encoding library appropriate for the output context (HTML, JavaScript, URL).

Recommended fix High confidence

Joomla! 5.4.7 or Joomla! 6.1.2 (select based on your current major version)

  1. 1. Back up your Joomla! database and all site files.
  2. 2. Determine your current Joomla! major version (5.x or 6.x).
  3. 3. For Joomla! 5.x: Download Joomla! 5.4.7 from the official Joomla! download page.
  4. 4. For Joomla! 6.x: Download Joomla! 6.1.2 from the official Joomla! download page.
  5. 5. Install the update through the Joomla! Admin Dashboard via Components > Joomla Update, or perform a manual installation by uploading the update package.
  6. 6. Clear any caching systems (Joomla cache, CDN cache, browser cache).
  7. 7. Verify the update was successful by checking the version number in Admin Dashboard > System > Information.

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

Fix this in Joomla\! Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2026-48951 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