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Salvo is vulnerable to reflected XSS in the list_html function

High severity GitHub Reviewed Published Jan 8, 2026 in salvo-rs/salvo • Updated Jan 8, 2026

Package

cargo salvo (Rust)

Affected versions

< 0.88.1

Patched versions

0.88.1

Description

Summary

The function list_html generates an file view of a folder which includes a render of the current path, in which its inserted in the HTML without proper sanitation, leading to reflected XSS. The request path is decoded and normalized in the matching stage but is not inserted raw in the HTML view (current.path). The only constraint here is for the root path (e.g., /files in the PoC example) to have a subdirectory (e. g., common ones like styles/scripts/etc.) so that the matching returns the list HTML page instead of the Not Found page.

Details

The vulnerable snippet of code is the following:
dir.rs

// ... fn list_html(...
    let mut ftxt = format!(
        r#"<!DOCTYPE html><html><head>
        <meta charset="utf-8">
        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width">
        <title>{}</title>
        <style>{}</style></head><body><header><h3>Index of: {}</h3></header><hr/>"#,
        current.path,
        HTML_STYLE,
        header_links(&current.path)
    );
// ...

As seen here <title>{}</title> it is inserted unsafely.

PoC

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/92a29a67-547b-40a5-af26-f1b0dd332702

Here is the example app, note this doesn’t need an upload feature (e.g to the other reported vulnerability), only the sub-folder is required.

main.rs

use salvo::prelude::*;
use salvo::serve_static::StaticDir;
use tokio::fs;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() {
    tracing_subscriber::fmt().init();
    fs::create_dir_all("uploads").await.expect("create uploads dir");

    let router = Router::new()
        .push(
            Router::with_path("files/{**rest_path}")
                .get(StaticDir::new("uploads").auto_list(true)),
        );

    let acceptor = TcpListener::new("127.0.0.1:5800").bind().await;
    Server::new(acceptor).serve(router).await;
}

Cargo.toml

[package]
name = "salvo-staticdir-xss-poc"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2024"

[dependencies]
salvo = { version = "0.85.0", features = ["serve-static"] }
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["macros", "rt-multi-thread", "fs"] }
tracing-subscriber = "0.3"

Setup commands:

mkdir uploads
mkdir uploads/bla

Impact

JavaScript execution, most likely leading to an account takeover, depending on the site's constraint (CSP, etc…).

References

@chrislearn chrislearn published to salvo-rs/salvo Jan 8, 2026
Published by the National Vulnerability Database Jan 8, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Jan 8, 2026
Reviewed Jan 8, 2026
Last updated Jan 8, 2026

Severity

High

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
Low
Availability
Low

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:L/A:L

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(2nd percentile)

Weaknesses

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

CVE-2026-22256

GHSA ID

GHSA-rjf8-2wcw-f6mp

Source code

Credits

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