# CVE-2016-8613: Cross-site scripting in foreman

> Stored XSS in Foreman remote execution allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in users' browsers via unescaped console output.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.4 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 31 Jul 2018
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hh7m-gjfx-m9cw

## What is CVE-2016-8613?

CVE-2016-8613 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Theforeman Foreman, published on 31 Jul 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in foreman 1.5.1. The remote execution plugin runs commands on hosts over SSH from the Foreman web UI. When a job is submitted that contains HTML tags, the console output shown in the web UI does not escape the output causing any HTML or JavaScript to run in the user's browser. The output of the job is stored, making this a stored XSS vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-8613?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Theforeman Foreman.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-8613?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2016-8613 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-8613 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Theforeman Foreman

- [CVE-2018-14643](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-14643/): smart_proxy_dynflow gem authentication bypass in Foreman remote execution feature (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-7505](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7505/): Missing authorization in foreman (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2016-4475](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4475/): Missing authorization in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2016-3728](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3728/): Code injection in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2015-5246](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-5246/): Auth bypass in n/a (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-8613 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-8613 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Theforeman Foreman, published on 31 Jul 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-8613 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Theforeman Foreman. 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-2016-8613/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8613/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-8613
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-8613
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-8613

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8613/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.