CVE-2026-63466

CVE-2026-63466 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in unleash-server (npm), affecting versions < 8.0.3. It is fixed in 8.0.3.

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Summary

Unleash: Global Mustache.escape override disables HTML escaping process-wide, enabling Slack/Teams link-injection via unrestricted username

Vulnerability Details

File: src/lib/addons/feature-event-formatter-md.ts
Line: 355 (in v8.0.1; format() method)

Root Cause

FeatureEventFormatterMd.format() does:

Mustache.escape = (text) => text;
const text = Mustache.render(action, context);

mustache (pinned ^4.2.0, confirmed installed 4.2.0) keeps escape as a module-level singleton (mustache.js: mustache.escape = escapeHtml;), read by every Mustache.render() call in the process unless a per-call config.escape override is passed (var escape = this.getConfigEscape(config) || mustache.escape;). Node's module cache guarantees every import Mustache from 'mustache' in the process, feature-event-formatter-md.ts, email-service.ts, webhook.ts, datadog.ts, new-relic.ts, shares the same object instance.

This assignment therefore permanently disables HTML escaping for every other Mustache.render() call in the same Node process (including email-service.ts templates) from the moment any single notification addon (Webhook, Slack legacy, Microsoft Teams, Datadog, New Relic) first formats any event, for the remaining lifetime of the process.

feature-event-formatter-md-events.ts (EVENT_MAP) confirms the blast radius: nearly every event's action template interpolates attacker-controlled values with single-mustache (intended-to-be-escaped) syntax, most importantly {{user}}, which is event.createdBy, the acting account's username (or email if set; src/lib/util/extract-user.ts: extractUsernameFromUser). Neither username nor name have any charset/length validation anywhere in the codebase (create-user-schema.ts, create-invited-user-schema.ts, user-service.ts:289 only does Joi.assert(name, Joi.string(), 'Name'), a type check, nothing more).

Slack's own API docs require &, <, > to be replaced with &amp;, &lt;, &gt; before sending user-generated text, specifically so Slack's mrkdwn parser does not interpret it as <url|label> link syntax. Mustache's default escapeHtml happens to produce exactly those entities, so this was (likely unintentionally) the application's only defense against link-injection in chat notifications, and it is unconditionally switched off by the same code path that depends on it.

Attack Scenario

  1. Admin has a Webhook, Slack (legacy), Microsoft Teams, Datadog, or New Relic integration configured (a very common production setup for flag-change notifications).
  2. Attacker has (or self-registers, if public signup is enabled, POST /invite/:token/signup is permission: NONE) any Editor-level account and sets username to e.g. evil<https://attacker.example/urgent-rollback|Click here to view incident>.
  3. Attacker performs any ordinary write action (create/update/toggle a feature flag, routine, no special privilege beyond Editor on one project).
  4. The configured addon's handleEvent() calls this.msgFormatter.format(event), which mutates the global escape function and immediately renders the {{user}}-containing template with escaping disabled.
  5. The resulting message, containing the attacker's raw <url|label> Slack link syntax, is POSTed to the team's Slack/Teams channel or webhook endpoint and rendered as a real, clickable, attacker-labeled hyperlink inside a trusted automated notification feed.

Vulnerable Code

Mustache.escape = (text) => text;

const text = Mustache.render(action, context);
const url = path
    ? `${this.unleashUrl}${Mustache.render(path, context)}`
    : undefined;

Verification

Dynamically confirmed on v8.0.1 in a local Docker lab (official unleashorg/unleash-server:8.0.1 image + Postgres 15):

  • Created a Webhook addon with the addon UI's own placeholder bodyTemplate ({{event.createdBy}} etc.), pointed at a local listener.
  • Created an Editor-role user with username = evil2<https://attacker.example/urgent-rollback|Click here to view incident> (accepted with HTTP 201, no sanitization).
  • Logged in as that user and created a feature flag (ordinary Editor action).
  • Captured webhook payload: "createdBy": "evil2<https://attacker.example/urgent-rollback|Click here to view incident>", <, >, | completely unescaped, live Slack link-injection syntax.
  • Control test with the same pinned [email protected] package confirmed the default (pre-bug) output for the same string would have been evil2&lt;https:&#x2F;&#x2F;attacker.example&#x2F;urgent-rollback|Click here to view incident&gt;, i.e. the single global assignment is solely responsible for the unescaped output observed live.

Impact

  • Stored markdown/link-injection (phishing-link injection) into any configured outbound notification channel (Slack legacy, MS Teams, Webhook default markdown, Datadog, New Relic), using an attacker-controlled username, no admin privilege required, only Editor on a single project, and potentially reachable through public self-signup.
  • Secondary: loss of HTML escaping for any other reachable Mustache single-mustache placeholder process-wide until restart (increases severity of any other currently-unreached or future Mustache sink, e.g. email templates).
  • Tertiary: a custom Webhook bodyTemplate that interpolates raw event/user fields directly into a JSON string literal (rather than the pre-escaped eventJson field the code already provides for this purpose) can have its JSON structure broken by an attacker-controlled " character once the global escape function is neutered.

CVE-2026-63466 has a CVSS score of 4.1 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low 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 (8.0.3); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

unleash-server (< 8.0.3)

Security releases

unleash-server → 8.0.3 (npm)

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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Remediation advice

Never mutate the shared Mustache.escape global. Pass a local escape function via Mustache's per-call render option instead (supported and typed in @types/[email protected]'s RenderOptions.escape):

const renderConfig = { escape: (text: string) => text };
const text = Mustache.render(action, context, undefined, renderConfig);
const url = path
    ? `${this.unleashUrl}${Mustache.render(path, context, undefined, renderConfig)}`
    : undefined;

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is CVE-2026-63466? CVE-2026-63466 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in unleash-server (npm), affecting versions < 8.0.3. It is fixed in 8.0.3.
  2. How severe is CVE-2026-63466? CVE-2026-63466 has a CVSS score of 4.1 (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 unleash-server are affected by CVE-2026-63466? unleash-server (npm) versions < 8.0.3 is affected.
  4. Is there a fix for CVE-2026-63466? Yes. CVE-2026-63466 is fixed in 8.0.3. Upgrade to this version or later.
  5. Is CVE-2026-63466 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-63466 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-2026-63466 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-2026-63466? Upgrade unleash-server to 8.0.3 or later.

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