# CVE-2022-42748: Cross-site scripting in CandidATS

> An external attacker can steal user cookies via XSS in CandidATS, potentially leading to account takeover.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.1/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:** No
- **Published:** 3 Nov 2022
- **Updated:** 5 May 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5587-9qwv-rggc

## What is CVE-2022-42748?

CVE-2022-42748 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in CandidATS, published on 3 Nov 2022. 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

CandidATS version 3.0.0 on 'sortDirection' of the 'ajax.php' resource, allows an external attacker to steal the cookie of arbitrary users. This is possible because the application application does not properly validate user input against XSS attacks.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-42748?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Auieo Candidats.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-42748?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-42748 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-42748 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-42748 exists.

Public exploit code:

- CandidATS 3.0.0 - Cross-Site Scripting. (nuclei): http/cves/2022/CVE-2022-42748.yaml

## Other vulnerabilities in CandidATS

- [CVE-2022-42744](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42744/): SQL injection in CandidATS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-42750](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42750/): Cross-site scripting in CandidATS (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2022-42751](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42751/): Cross-site request forgery in CandidATS (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-9341](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-9341/): Cross-site request forgery in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2022-25228](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-25228/): SQL injection in CandidATS (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-42748 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-42748 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in CandidATS, published on 3 Nov 2022. 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-2022-42748 exists.

Affected product: CandidATS. 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-2022-42748/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42748/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-42748
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-42748
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-42748

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42748/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.