CVE-2025-49579

All system messages in menu headings using the Menu.mustache template are inserted as raw HTML, allowing anybody who can edit those messages to insert arbitrary HTML into the DOM.

Details

The system messages for menu headings are inserted unescaped into raw HTML:
https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/blob/072e4365e9084e4b153eac62d3666566c06f5a49/templates/Menu.mustache#L8-L10

PoC

1. Go to any article using citizen with the uselang parameter set to x-xss
2. A large number of alerts will be shown for various messages, e.g.:
   
   

On the main page of my test wiki, the following messages were shown: navigation, notifications, user-interface-preferences, personaltools, variants, views, associated-pages, cactions and toolbox.

This impacts wikis where a group has the editinterface but not the editsitejs user right.

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-2025-49579 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, high 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 (3.3.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

1. What is CVE-2025-49579? CVE-2025-49579 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in starcitizentools/citizen-skin (composer), affecting versions >= 2.4.2, < 3.3.1. It is fixed in 3.3.1. Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session.
2. How severe is CVE-2025-49579? CVE-2025-49579 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (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.
3. Which versions of starcitizentools/citizen-skin are affected by CVE-2025-49579? starcitizentools/citizen-skin (composer) versions >= 2.4.2, < 3.3.1 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2025-49579? Yes. CVE-2025-49579 is fixed in 3.3.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2025-49579 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-49579 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-2025-49579 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-2025-49579? Upgrade starcitizentools/citizen-skin to 3.3.1 or later.