# 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.

- **Severity:** High 8.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **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 available:** No
- **Published:** 27 May 2026
- **Updated:** 28 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-37xm-vhx8-g6w3

## 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 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## 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.

## Is CVE-2026-42197 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-42197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-42197 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-42197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: inducer relate. 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-2026-42197/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-42197/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-42197
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-42197
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-42197

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-42197/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.