XSS in Forem

CVE-2026-61696

Forem is open source software for building communities. In versions before commit 92eacd16a82cf9007ba8e16a2258b42e3b53ca9c, a malicious value submitted through feedback_message[message] is stored without sanitization and rendered in app/views/admin/feedback_messages/_feedback_message.html.erb through raw(feedback_message.message) when offender_id is present. Viewing the abuse report executes arbitrary JavaScript in an administrator's browser and may expose sensitive in-page data, abuse CSRF tokens, or perform administrative actions in the victim's session. The public FeedbackMessagesController accepts the report without authorization and previously permitted a submitted offender_id, making the vulnerable rendering path reachable by an unauthenticated attacker. This issue is fixed in commit 92eacd16a82cf9007ba8e16a2258b42e3b53ca9c

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 6.3 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (22.9th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 23rd percentile — 22.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-61696: held from 0.002 to 0.003.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.003 · change: +0.001

Affected products

  • Forem — versions < 92eacd16a82cf9007ba8e16a2258b42e3b53ca9c

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-61696?
CVE-2026-61696 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Forem, classified under Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component (Injection). CVSS score: 6.3/10. Published 2026-08-18.
How severe is CVE-2026-61696?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.3 out of 10.