CVE-2017-20290
Discourse < 1.9.0.beta13 Reflected XSS via /email/unsubscribed
Discourse 1.9.0.beta2 before 1.9.0.beta13 contains a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject scripts through the email parameter of /email/unsubscribed. Attackers can craft GET requests with SVG onload payloads, which unsubscribed.html.erb renders unescaped via html_safe, executing JavaScript in victims' browsers. Exploitation evidence was first observed by the Shadowserver Foundation on 2023-10-19.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- Active
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
5.1
Discourse < 1.9.0.beta13 Reflected XSS via /email/unsubscribed
Discourse 1.9.0.beta2 before 1.9.0.beta13 contains a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject scripts through the email parameter of /email/unsubscribed. Attackers can craft GET requests with SVG onload payloads, which unsubscribed.html.erb renders unescaped via html_safe, executing JavaScript in victims' browsers. Exploitation evidence was first observed by the Shadowserver Foundation on 2023-10-19.
- Record
CVE-2017-20290- CVSS 4.0
- 5.1 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N - CVSS 3.1
- 6.1 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2017-19027
5.1
Discourse 1.9.0.beta2 before 1.9.0.beta13 contains a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject scripts through the email parameter of /email/unsubscribed. Attackers can craft GET requests with SVG onload payloads, which unsubscribed.html.erb renders unescaped via html_safe, executing JavaScript in victims' browsers. Exploitation evidence was first observed by the Shadowserver Foundation on 2023-10-19.
- Record
EUVD-2017-19027- CVSS 4.0
- 5.1 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-9225-76qg-xfwx
5.1
Discourse 1.9.0.beta2 before 1.9.0.beta13 contains a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability...
Discourse 1.9.0.beta2 before 1.9.0.beta13 contains a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject scripts through the email parameter of /email/unsubscribed. Attackers can craft GET requests with SVG onload payloads, which unsubscribed.html.erb renders unescaped via html_safe, executing JavaScript in victims' browsers. Exploitation evidence was first observed by the Shadowserver Foundation on 2023-10-19.
- Record
GHSA-9225-76qg-xfwx- CVSS 4.0
- 5.1 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - CVSS 3.1
- 6.1 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
5.1
Discourse 1.9.0.beta2 before 1.9.0.beta13 contains a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject scripts through the email parameter of /email/unsubscribed. Attackers can craft GET requests with SVG onload payloads, which unsubscribed.html.erb renders unescaped via html_safe, executing JavaScript in victims' browsers. Exploitation evidence was first observed by the Shadowserver Foundation on 2023-10-19.
- Record
CVE-2017-20290- CVSS 4.0
- 5.1 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - CVSS 3.1
- 6.1 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
6.1
Discourse 1.9.0.beta2 before 1.9.0.beta13 contains a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject scripts through the email parameter of /email/unsubscribed. Attackers can craft GET requests with SVG onload payloads, which unsubscribed.html.erb renders unescaped via html_safe, executing JavaScript in victims' browsers. Exploitation evidence was first observed by the Shadowserver Foundation on 2023-10-19.
- Record
CVE-2017-20290- CVSS 3.1
- 6.1 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2017-20290 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.1) in Discourse, published October 22, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.27%, the 18th percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/a6f2533d38
github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/6e37f09b19
github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/vulnerabilities/other/discourse-xss.yaml
vulncheck.com/advisories/discourse-1.9.0-beta13-reflected-xss-via-email-unsubscribed
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-20290
github.com/advisories/GHSA-9225-76qg-xfwx