# CVE-2016-8634: Cross-site scripting in foreman

> Stored XSS in Foreman allows attackers to execute scripts via HTML in organization names, potentially compromising user sessions.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 Aug 2018
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fjj6-r3pr-3rrj

## What is CVE-2016-8634?

CVE-2016-8634 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Theforeman Foreman, published on 1 Aug 2018. 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

A vulnerability was found in foreman 1.14.0. When creating an organization or location in Foreman, if the name contains HTML then the second step of the wizard (/organizations/id/step2) will render the HTML. This occurs in the alertbox on the page. The result is a stored XSS attack if an organization/location with HTML in the name is created, then a user is linked directly to this URL.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-8634?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Theforeman Foreman.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-8634?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2016-8634 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-8634 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-2016-8634 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-8634 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Theforeman Foreman, published on 1 Aug 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-8634 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-2016-8634/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8634/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-8634
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-8634
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-8634

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8634/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.