CVE-2026-42259VulnerabilityPublished 16 Apr 2026Updated 11 May 2026

@saltcorn/server · Saltcorn: Open Redirect

Affects @saltcorn/serverSource GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-42259· Medium 5.1

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.1 Medium : upgrade to 1.4.6 when convenient.

Data as of 27 Oct 2026, 00:07 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

5.1Medium

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

Patch: Available – fixed in 1.4.6, 1.5.6, 1.6.0-beta.5

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Active
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None
Vulnerable system integrity: None
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: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within 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 7 May 2026
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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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

Upgrade @saltcorn/server to 1.4.6; @saltcorn/server to 1.5.6; @saltcorn/server to 1.6.0-beta.5.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
npm@saltcorn/server	Affected <1.4.6	Fixed in 1.4.6
npm@saltcorn/server	Affected >=1.5.0-beta.0 <1.5.6	Fixed in 1.5.6
npm@saltcorn/server	Affected >=1.6.0-alpha.0 <1.6.0-beta.5	Fixed in 1.6.0-beta.5

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

Description

### Summary Saltcorn validates the post-login `dest` parameter with a string check that only blocks `:/` and `//`. Because all WHATWG-compliant browsers normalise backslashes (`\`) to forward slashes (`/`) for special schemes, a payload such as `/\evil.com/path` slips through `is_relative_url()`, is emitted unchanged in the HTTP `Location` header, and causes the browser to navigate cross-origin to an attacker-controlled domain. The bug is reachable on a default install and only requires a victim who can be tricked into logging in via a crafted Saltcorn URL. ### Details Vulnerable function: `packages/server/routes/utils.js:393-395` ```js const is_relative_url = (url) => { return typeof url === "string" && !url.includes(":/") && !url.includes("//"); }; ``` The function's intent is to allow only same-origin redirects, but the allow-list only checks for two literal substrings. It does not handle: - backslash characters, which WHATWG URL parsing (used by every modern browser) treats as forward slashes for the special schemes `http`, `https`, `ftp`, `ws`, `wss`. A URL parser fed `/\evil.com/path` with a base of `http://victim/` resolves to `http://evil.com/path`. - non-`http(s):` schemes that do not contain `:/`. The strings `javascript:alert(1)`, `data:text/html,...`, `vbscript:...` all pass. Vulnerable callsite: `packages/server/auth/routes.js:1371-1376` ```js } else if ( (req.body || {}).dest && is_relative_url(decodeURIComponent((req.body || {}).dest)) ) { res.redirect(decodeURIComponent((req.body || {}).dest)); } else res.redirect("/"); ``` The body's `dest` is URL-decoded twice (once by body-parser, once by the explicit `decodeURIComponent`) and the same value is passed to `res.redirect`. Express 5's `res.redirect` runs the value through `encodeurl@2.0.0`, whose whitelist character class `[^\x21\x23-\x3B\x3D\x3F-\x5F\x61-\x7A\x7C\x7E]` includes `\x5C` (backslash). The backslash is therefore not percent-encoded and ends up verbatim in the `Location` response header. ### PoC [poc.zip](https://github.com/user-attachments/files/26678853/poc.zip) Please extract the uploaded compressed file before proceeding 1. ./setup.sh 2. ./poc.sh <img width="419" height="71" alt="스크린샷 2026-04-13 오후 11 44 36" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9c919ed4-167b-47e3-9873-733f97b44bf0" /> ### Impact Any user who can be lured into clicking a Saltcorn login URL crafted by the attacker will, after submitting their valid credentials, be redirected to an attacker-controlled origin. The redirect happens under the trusted Saltcorn domain, so the user has no visual cue that they are about to leave the site. Realistic abuse patterns: - Credential phishing — the attacker's site renders a forged "session expired, please log in again" prompt to capture the password the user just typed.

CWE-601URL Redirection to Untrusted Site ('Open Redirect') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: LowOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The web application accepts a user-controlled input that specifies a link to an external site, and uses that link in a redirect.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design
Use an intermediate disclaimer page that provides the user with a clear warning that they are leaving the current site. Implement a long timeout before the redirect occurs, or force the user to click on the link. Be careful to avoid XSS problems (CWE-79) when generating the disclaimer page.
Architecture and Design · Enforcement by Conversion
When the set of acceptable objects, such as filenames or URLs, is limited or known, create a mapping from a set of fixed input values (such as numeric IDs) to the actual filenames or URLs, and reject all other inputs.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.1.5 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Cross-Site Flashing (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

WeaknessesCWE-601

Technical details

References

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