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Saltcorn's Reflected XSS and Command Injection vulnerabilities can be chained for 1-click-RCE

Critical severity GitHub Reviewed Published Jan 25, 2026 in saltcorn/saltcorn • Updated Jan 26, 2026

Package

npm @saltcorn/server (npm)

Affected versions

>= 1.1.1, < 1.5.0-beta.19

Patched versions

1.5.0-beta.19

Description

Summary

  1. There is a reflected XSS vulnerability in the GET /admin/edit-codepage/:name route through the name parameter. This can be used to hijack the session of an admin if they click a specially crafted link.
  2. Additionally, there is a Command Injection vulnerability in GET /admin/backup. The admin can inject a shell command in the backup password which is inserted in the command used to create the backup zip.

Both vulnerabilities can be chained to craft a malicious link which will execute an arbitrary shell command on the server if it is clicked by a saltcorn admin with an active session. I believe iframes could also be used to exploit this silently when the admin visits an attacker-controlled web page (though I have not tested that).

Details

  1. The XSS vulnerability is here: https://github.com/saltcorn/saltcorn/blob/020893c0001678fd5ebd2c088ba68b395de1aabc/packages/server/routes/admin.js#L4886-L4887 Specifically, the name parameter is inserted into the pages breadcrumbs without sanitization.
  2. The Command Injection happens here: https://github.com/saltcorn/saltcorn/blob/020893c0001678fd5ebd2c088ba68b395de1aabc/packages/saltcorn-admin-models/models/backup.ts#L381-L382

PoC

  1. A minimal PoC for the XSS can be as simple as: http://localhost:3000/admin/edit-codepage/%3Cimg%20src%3Dx%20onerror%3Dalert%281%29%3E%0A (assuming saltcorn running at localhost:3000 and the user having an active admin session)
  2. For the Command Injection, visit the backup section of saltcorn, set an admin password like ";$(whoami);" (including the quotation marks) and then click "Download a backup" in the "Manual backup" section. This should display an error page saying that /bin/sh could not find the binary named "root" or "saltcorn", depending on the user.

An example of an exploit that chains both vulnerabilities and generates the aforementioned malicious link:
exploit.zip

Affected Versions

Edit: The following Docker containers from docker hub were tested: 1.4.1, 1.4.0, 1.3.1, 1.3.0, 1.2.0, 1.1.2, 1.1.1, 1.0.0
The Command Injection is applicable to versions >= 1.3.0.
The XSS is applicable to versions >= 1.1.1

References

@glutamate glutamate published to saltcorn/saltcorn Jan 25, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Jan 26, 2026
Reviewed Jan 26, 2026
Last updated Jan 26, 2026

Severity

Critical

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS score

Weaknesses

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')

The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component. Learn more on MITRE.

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

No known CVE

GHSA ID

GHSA-cr3w-cw5w-h3fj

Source code

Credits

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