# CVE-2003-1278: Cross-site scripting in n/a

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary scripts and steal authentication cookies by injecting HTML into IMG tags in OpenTopic.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Nov 2005
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mpjm-f737-j9fp

## What is CVE-2003-1278?

CVE-2003-1278 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in n/a, published on 16 Nov 2005. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Cross-site scripting vulnerability (XSS) in OpenTopic 2.3.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary script as other users and possibly steal authentication information via cookies by injecting arbitrary HTML or script into IMG tags.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2003-1278?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Infopop Opentopic.

## How do I fix CVE-2003-1278?

No fix has been published for CVE-2003-1278 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2003-1278 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2003-1278 exists.

Public exploit code:

- OpenTopic 2.3.1 - Private Message HTML Injection (exploitdb)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2003-1278 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2003-1278 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in n/a, published on 16 Nov 2005. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2003-1278 exists.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-1278/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-1278/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-1278
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2003-1278
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2003-1278

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-1278/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.