CVE-2024-53266 Cross-site Scripting (XSS) via topic titles when CSP disabled in Discourse
Attackers can execute arbitrary scripts in user profiles via topic titles if Content Security Policy is disabled, requiring an upgrade or CSP enablement.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2024-53266?
CVE-2024-53266 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Discourse Discourse, published on 4 Feb 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. In affected versions with some combinations of plugins, and with CSP disabled, activity streams in the user's profile page may be vulnerable to XSS. This has been patched in the latest version of Discourse core. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should ensure CSP is enabled.
Weakness: CWE-79
Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-53266?
1 open source package ship an affected version, including discourse. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
discourse Bitnami | All versions | 3.3.3 |
Products include Discourse Discourse.
How do I fix CVE-2024-53266?
Upgrade discourse to 3.3.3 or later.
Escape output for the context it lands in and set a strict Content Security Policy. Upgrading the affected component is the real fix. More about Cross-site scripting.
Is CVE-2024-53266 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-53266 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Discourse Discourse
- CVE-2021-41163 RCE via malicious SNS subscription payload
- CVE-2022-36066 Discourse vulnerable to RCE via admins uploading maliciously zipped file
- CVE-2022-39356 Discourse user account takeover via email and invite link
- CVE-2023-22468 Discourse vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting in local oneboxes
- CVE-2026-27934 Discourse leaks private topic title and post excerpt via user action API endpoint
Sources
Also known as BIT-discourse-2024-53266, GHSA-hw4j-4hg7-22h2.