Summary
Cross-site scripting from dynamic options in the multiselect field
Introduction
Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a type of vulnerability that allows to execute any kind of JavaScript code inside the Panel session of the same or other users. In the Panel, a harmful script can for example trigger requests to Kirby's API with the permissions of the victim.
Such vulnerabilities are critical if you might have potential attackers in your group of authenticated Panel users. They can escalate their privileges if they get access to the Panel session of an admin user. Depending on your site, other JavaScript-powered attacks are possible.
Workarounds
We recommend to update to the patch release. If you cannot update immediately, you can work around the issue by disabling the multiselect field. This can be done by uncommenting this field from all your blueprints.
Impact
The multiselect field allows to select tags from an autocompleted list. Unfortunately, the Panel in Kirby 3.5 used HTML rendering for the raw option value.
This allowed attackers with influence on the options source (e.g. content of sibling pages or an API endpoint) to inject HTML code. If a page in the Panel that uses the manipulated multiselect options was visited by a victim and the victim opened the autocomplete dropdown, the victim's browser will then have rendered this malicious HTML code.
You are not affected by this vulnerability if you don't use the multiselect field or only use it with options that cannot be manipulated by attackers.
Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session. Typical impact: session or credential theft, and actions taken as the user.
CVE-2022-36037 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (3.5.8.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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The problem has been patched in Kirby 3.5.8.1. Please update to this or a later version to fix the vulnerability.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2022-36037? CVE-2022-36037 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in getkirby/cms (composer), affecting versions < 3.5.8.1. It is fixed in 3.5.8.1. Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session.
- How severe is CVE-2022-36037? CVE-2022-36037 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of getkirby/cms are affected by CVE-2022-36037? getkirby/cms (composer) versions < 3.5.8.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2022-36037? Yes. CVE-2022-36037 is fixed in 3.5.8.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2022-36037 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-36037 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2022-36037 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2022-36037? Upgrade
getkirby/cmsto 3.5.8.1 or later.