CVE-2023-36459
Mastodon vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting through oEmbed preview cards
Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Starting in version 1.3 and prior to versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3, an attacker using carefully crafted oEmbed data can bypass the HTML sanitization performed by Mastodon and include arbitrary HTML in oEmbed preview cards. This introduces a vector for cross-site scripting (XSS) payloads that can be rendered in the user's browser when a preview card for a malicious link is clicked through. Versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3 contain a patch for this issue.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Mastodon vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting through oEmbed preview cards
Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Starting in version 1.3 and prior to versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3, an attacker using carefully crafted oEmbed data can bypass the HTML sanitization performed by Mastodon and include arbitrary HTML in oEmbed preview cards. This introduces a vector for cross-site scripting (XSS) payloads that can be rendered in the user's browser when a preview card for a malicious link is clicked through. Versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3 contain a patch for this issue.
- Record
CVE-2023-36459- CVSS 3.1
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-40421
Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Starting in version 1.3 and prior to versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3, an attacker using carefully crafted oEmbed data can bypass the HTML sanitization performed by Mastodon and include arbitrary HTML in oEmbed preview cards. This introduces a vector for cross-site scripting (XSS) payloads that can be rendered in the user's browser when a preview card for a malicious link is clicked through. Versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3 contain a patch for this issue.
- Record
EUVD-2023-40421- CVSS 3.1
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
NVD
Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Starting in version 1.3 and prior to versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3, an attacker using carefully crafted oEmbed data can bypass the HTML sanitization performed by Mastodon and include arbitrary HTML in oEmbed preview cards. This introduces a vector for cross-site scripting (XSS) payloads that can be rendered in the user's browser when a preview card for a malicious link is clicked through. Versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3 contain a patch for this issue.
- Record
CVE-2023-36459- CVSS 3.1
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A: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
OSV
Mastodon vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting through oEmbed preview cards
Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Starting in version 1.3 and prior to versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3, an attacker using carefully crafted oEmbed data can bypass the HTML sanitization performed by Mastodon and include arbitrary HTML in oEmbed preview cards. This introduces a vector for cross-site scripting (XSS) payloads that can be rendered in the user's browser when a preview card for a malicious link is clicked through. Versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3 contain a patch for this issue.
- Record
CVE-2023-36459- CVSS 3.1
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-mastodon-2023-36459 No score
Mastodon vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting through oEmbed preview cards
Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Starting in version 1.3 and prior to versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3, an attacker using carefully crafted oEmbed data can bypass the HTML sanitization performed by Mastodon and include arbitrary HTML in oEmbed preview cards. This introduces a vector for cross-site scripting (XSS) payloads that can be rendered in the user's browser when a preview card for a malicious link is clicked through. Versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3 contain a patch for this issue.
- Record
BIT-mastodon-2023-36459- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
mastodonBitnami |
1.3.0 up to 3.5.9, 4.0.0 up to 4.0.5, 4.1.0 up to 4.1.3 | 3.5.94.0.54.1.3 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2023-36459 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.3) in Joinmastodon Mastodon, published July 6, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.22%, the 68th percentile. Fixed in mastodon 3.5.9.
References
github.com/mastodon/mastodon/security/advisories/GHSA-ccm4-vgcc-73hp
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/07/06/5
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-36459