CVE-2023-53911VulnerabilityPublished 17 Dec 2025Updated 30 Dec 2025

CVE-2023-53911: Tmrswrr Textpattern CMS · Cross-site Scripting

Affects Tmrswrr Textpattern CMSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.1 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 08:30 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 23% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Passive
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: Low: The attacker requires privileges that provide basic capabilities that are typically limited to settings and resources owned by a single low-privileged user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges has the ability to access only non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: Passive: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires limited interaction by the targeted user with the vulnerable system and the attacker’s payload. These interactions would be considered involuntary and do not require that the user actively subvert protections built into the vulnerable system.
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 17 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 26 Oct 2026.

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
Tmrswrr Textpattern CMS	Affected =4.8.8	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Upgrade Textpattern CMS to a version that addresses this vulnerability once available from the vendor. 2. Until a patch is released, restrict authenticated user permissions to trusted personnel only, minimizing the risk of malicious input. 3. Implement input validation and output encoding on the article excerpt field to neutralize potentially malicious scripts. 4. Use Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts on web pages. 5. Monitor logs for unusual activity from authenticated users, especially those editing articles. 6. Educate CMS users about the risks of injecting untrusted content and enforce strict content submission policies. 7. Regularly scan the website for XSS vulnerabilities using automated tools and manual testing. 8. Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAF) with rules to detect and block XSS payloads targeting the CMS. 9. Review and tighten authentication mechanisms to prevent account compromise that could lead to exploitation.

Description

Textpattern CMS 4.8.8 contains a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in the article excerpt field that allows authenticated users to inject malicious scripts. Attackers can insert JavaScript payloads into the excerpt, which will execute when the article is viewed by other users.

Impact

For European organizations using Textpattern CMS 4.8.8, this vulnerability poses a risk of client-side attacks against users who visit compromised articles. Potential impacts include theft of session cookies, redirection to malicious sites, defacement of web content, and distribution of malware. This can damage organizational reputation, lead to data breaches, and cause loss of user trust. Since exploitation requires authenticated access, insider threats or compromised user accounts are the most likely attack vectors. The impact on confidentiality and integrity is low to moderate, but availability is not affected. Organizations with public-facing websites using this CMS are at risk of affecting a broad user base, including customers and partners across Europe. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers may develop exploits in the future. Compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR may also be impacted if user data is compromised through this vulnerability.

References

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