CVE-2023-53882VulnerabilityPublished 15 Dec 2025

CVE-2023-53882: jlexart JLex GuestBook · Cross-site Scripting

Affects jlexart JLex GuestBookSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.1 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

5.1Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 29% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Active
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low
Vulnerable system integrity: Low
Vulnerable system availability: None
Subsequent system confidentiality: Low
Subsequent system integrity: Low
Subsequent system availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed “remotely exploitable” and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files of the vulnerable system to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Active: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a targeted user to perform specific, conscious interactions with the vulnerable system and the attacker’s payload, or the user’s interactions would actively subvert protection mechanisms which would lead to exploitation of the vulnerability.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the Subsequent System.
Subsequent system integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact to the Subsequent System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 15 Dec 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
jlexart JLex GuestBook	Affected =1.6.4	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2023-53882, organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Apply strict input validation on the 'q' parameter to allow only expected characters or patterns, rejecting or sanitizing any suspicious input. 2) Employ proper output encoding (e.g., HTML entity encoding) when reflecting user input back in the web page to prevent script execution. 3) If possible, disable or restrict the use of the 'q' parameter temporarily until an official patch or update is released by the vendor. 4) Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of inline scripts and reduce the impact of XSS attacks. 5) Educate users and administrators about the risks of clicking untrusted links and monitor web server logs for suspicious requests targeting the 'q' parameter. 6) Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules to detect and block XSS payloads targeting this parameter. 7) Regularly check for vendor updates or patches and apply them promptly once available. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on the specific vulnerable parameter and leveraging layered defenses to reduce risk.

Description

CVE-2023-53882 is a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability found in JLex GuestBook version 1.6.4. The flaw exists in the 'q' URL parameter, which does not properly neutralize input during web page generation, allowing attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code. Exploitation involves crafting malicious URLs that, when visited by victims, execute arbitrary scripts in their browsers. This can lead to session token theft or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the user. The vulnerability has a CVSS 4.0 base score of 5.1, indicating medium severity, with no authentication required but user interaction needed. There are currently no known exploits in the wild, and no official patches have been published.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be significant, particularly for those that deploy JLex GuestBook 1.6.4 on public-facing websites. Successful exploitation can lead to session hijacking, allowing attackers to impersonate legitimate users and potentially access sensitive information or perform unauthorized actions. This could result in data breaches, reputational damage, and loss of user trust. Additionally, attackers could use the vulnerability to deliver further malware or phishing attacks by redirecting users to malicious sites. While the direct impact on system availability is low, the compromise of user sessions and data confidentiality poses a medium risk. Organizations in sectors such as e-commerce, government, education, and any entity relying on guestbook functionality for user feedback or interaction are particularly at risk. The lack of available patches means organizations must rely on mitigations to reduce exposure. Given the medium CVSS score and the requirement for user interaction, the threat is moderate but should not be underestimated, especially in environments with high user traffic.

References

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