# CVE-2019-19903: Cross-site scripting in n/a

> An attacker with file type administration permissions can inject scripts into file type descriptions, leading to XSS when administrators view the list.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 19 Dec 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-pjx6-j435-vcmj

## What is CVE-2019-19903?

CVE-2019-19903 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Dec 2019. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in Backdrop CMS 1.14.x before 1.14.2. It doesn't sufficiently filter output when displaying file type descriptions created by administrators. An attacker could potentially craft a specialized description, then have an administrator execute scripting when viewing the list of file types, aka XSS. This vulnerability is mitigated by the fact that an attacker must have a role with the "Administer file types" permission.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-19903?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Backdropcms Backdrop Cms.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-19903?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-19903 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-19903 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-19903 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2019-14771](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-14771/): File upload in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-42092](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42092/): Backdrop CMS Unrestricted File Upload vulnerability (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2019-19902](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-19902/): File upload in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2025-63828](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-63828/): Backdrop CMS Host Header Injection vulnerability (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2025-44141](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-44141/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 6.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-19903 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-19903 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Dec 2019. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-19903 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2019-19903/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-19903/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-19903
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-19903
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-19903

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-19903/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.