# CVE-2020-25288: MantisBT XXS where a Custom Field with a crafted Regular Expression property is used

> Attackers can inject HTML and execute arbitrary JavaScript via crafted custom field regex patterns in MantisBT, potentially compromising user sessions.

- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 30 Sep 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qgrr-f26j-87vf

## What is CVE-2020-25288?

CVE-2020-25288 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Mantisbt Mantisbt, published on 30 Sep 2020. 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 MantisBT before 2.24.3. When editing an Issue in a Project where a Custom Field with a crafted Regular Expression property is used, improper escaping of the corresponding form input's pattern attribute allows HTML injection and, if CSP settings permit, execution of arbitrary JavaScript.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-25288?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including mantisbt/mantisbt. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `mantisbt/mantisbt` | Packagist | From 2.23.0 | 2.24.3 |
| `mantisbt/mantisbt` | Packagist | From 2.23.0 | 2.24.3 |

Products: Mantisbt Mantisbt.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-25288?

Upgrade mantisbt/mantisbt to 2.24.3 or later.

## Is CVE-2020-25288 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-25288 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Mantisbt Mantisbt

- [CVE-2019-15074](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15074/): MantisBT allows cross-site scripting (XSS) via crafted filename (critical 9.6)
- [CVE-2026-30849](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-30849/): MantisBT SOAP API has an authentication bypass vulnerability on MySQL (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2025-47776](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-47776/): MantisBT: Authentication bypass for some passwords due to PHP type juggling (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2017-7615](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7615/): MantisBT allows arbitrary password reset (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-33517](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33517/): MantisBT Vulnerable to Stored HTML Injection in Tag Delete Confirmation (high 8.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-25288 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-25288 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Mantisbt Mantisbt, published on 30 Sep 2020. 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-2020-25288 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- mantisbt/mantisbt (Packagist): affected from 2.23.0; fixed in 2.24.3
- mantisbt/mantisbt (Packagist): affected from 2.23.0; fixed in 2.24.3

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-2020-25288/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-25288/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25288
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-25288
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-25288

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-25288/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.