CVE-2026-42197 RELATE Vulnerable to Stored XSS via Unprivileged User Profile
An attacker can inject malicious JavaScript into their profile, which executes in an administrator's browser, potentially leading to full admin account takeover.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-42197?
CVE-2026-42197 is a high-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in inducer relate, published on 27 May 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
RELATE is a web-based courseware package. Versions prior to commit 555f0efb1c5bd7531c07cd73724d7e566a81f620 have a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows any enrolled student to execute arbitrary JavaScript in an administrator's browser session, potentially leading to full admin account takeover. The `get_user()` method in `ParticipationAdmin` renders user-controlled input using `mark_safe` combined with Python's % string formatting. This bypasses Django\'s automatic HTML escaping entirely. The value returned by `get_full_name` is derived directly from the `first_name` and `last_name` fields of the User model. These fields are freely editable by any authenticated user through the profile page (`/profile/`) with no sanitization applied. When an admin views the Participation list in the Django admin panel, the unsanitized value is rendered directly into the HTML response, causing the injected script to execute in the admin's browser. Commit 555f0efb1c5bd7531c07cd73724d7e566a81f620 fixes the issue.
Weakness: CWE-79
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-42197?
How do I fix CVE-2026-42197?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-42197 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
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-2026-42197 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-42197 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-37xm-vhx8-g6w3.