CVE-2023-52083

Winter CMS Stored XSS through privileged upload of Media Manager file followed by renaming

Workarounds

Apply https://github.com/wintercms/winter/commit/2969daeea8dee64d292dbaa3778ea251e2a7e491 and https://github.com/wintercms/winter/commit/2969daeea8dee64d292dbaa3778ea251e2a7e491 manually if unable to upgrade to v1.2.4.

References

Related: https://github.com/wintercms/winter/security/advisories/GHSA-wjw2-4j7j-6gc3

Users with the media.manage_media permission can upload files to the Media Manager and rename them after uploading. Previously, media manager files were only sanitized on upload, not on renaming, which could have allowed a stored XSS attack.

Although this was a security issue, it's important to note that its severity is low. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would already need to have trusted permissions in the Winter CMS backend. This means they would already have extensive access and control within the system. Additionally, to execute the XSS, the attacker would need to convince the victim to directly visit the URL of the maliciously uploaded SVG, and the application would have to be using local storage where uploaded files are served under the same domain as the application itself instead of a CDN. This is because all SVGs in Winter CMS are rendered through an img tag, which prevents any payloads from being executed directly.

These two factors significantly limit the potential harm of this vulnerability. That being said, all users are advised to update to the latest version (1.2.4) to ensure their systems remain secure.

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-2023-52083 has a CVSS score of 2.0 (Low). The vector is network-reachable, high privileges required, and user interaction required. 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 (1.2.4); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Already deployed Kodem?

This issue has been patched in v1.2.4.

1. What is CVE-2023-52083? CVE-2023-52083 is a low-severity cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in winter/wn-system-module (composer), affecting versions < 1.2.4. It is fixed in 1.2.4. Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session.
2. How severe is CVE-2023-52083? CVE-2023-52083 has a CVSS score of 2.0 (Low). 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.
3. Which versions of winter/wn-system-module are affected by CVE-2023-52083? winter/wn-system-module (composer) versions < 1.2.4 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2023-52083? Yes. CVE-2023-52083 is fixed in 1.2.4. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2023-52083 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-52083 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
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2023-52083 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.
7. How do I fix CVE-2023-52083? Upgrade winter/wn-system-module to 1.2.4 or later.