CVE-2025-53368
mediumpriority · track · 22EPSS 0.003 · 27 %ileDEEUUSEPSS · scored 2026-10-27
Citizen is a MediaWiki skin that makes extensions part of the cohesive experience. From versions 1.9.4 to before 3.4.0, page descriptions are inserted into raw HTML without proper sanitization by the Citizen skin when using the old search bar. Any user with page editing privileges can insert cross-site scripting (XSS) payloads into the DOM for other users who are searching for specific pages. This issue has been patched in version 3.4.0.
cvss
Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.
base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode⚠ sources disagree · medium–high · 5–8.6
ssvc
A stakeholder decision — act, attend, or track — from exploitation and impact.
weaknesses
The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.
affected products (11)
Products and version ranges known to be affected.
- StarCitizenTools mediawiki-skins-Citizenb2bd79196db1153d0bc1bd51a646d957cbdf4aec, → aedbceb3380b…enisa_euvdEU
advisories (2)
Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.
- WID-SEC-W-2025-1525MediaWiki Extensions und Skins: Mehrere SchwachstellenDeutsch2025-07-09csaf · cert_bundDE
Ein entfernter, anonymer Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in MediaWiki ausnutzen, um SQL-Injection- und XSS-Angriffe durchzuführen, Sicherheitsmechanismen zu umgehen, vertrauliche Informationen offenzulegen oder sich unbefugt höhere Berechtigungen zu verschaffen.
- GHSA-rq6g-6g94-jfr4starcitizentools/citizen-skin is vulnerable to Stored XSS attack in the legacy search bar through page descriptions2025-07-03ghsa · osvUS
### Summary Page descriptions are inserted into raw HTML without proper sanitization by the Citizen skin when using the old search bar. ### Details The descriptions, which are unsanitized, are inserted as raw HTML: https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/blob/d4dfc3697a82948b3b9c4d44e9a273c79bc86b87/resources/skins.citizen.search/templates/TypeaheadListItem.mustache#L18 ### PoC All of the reproduction methods require the command palette to be disabled via `$wgCitizenEnableCommandPalette = false;`. Additionally, the action API must be used as the Search Gateway via `$wgCitizenSearchGateway = 'mwActionApi';`. #### TextExtracts as the description source * Enable the TextExtracts extension * Add `$wgCitizenSearchDescriptionSource = 'textextracts';` to your LocalSettings.php * Create a page called `CitizenXSSTextExtracts` and insert `<img src="" onerror="alert('citizen search xss')">` into it * Open the search modal and search for `CitizenXSSTextExtracts`  #### Description2 as the description source * Enable the Description2 extension * Add `$wgEnableMetaDescriptionFunctions = true;` to your LocalSettings.php to enable the `{{#description2:}}` parser function * Add `$wgCitizenSearchDescriptionSource = 'pagedescription';` to your LocalSettings.php * Create a page called `CitizenXSSDescription2` and insert `{{#description2:<img src="" onerror="alert('citizen search xss 2')">}}` into it * Open the search modal and search for `CitizenXSSDescription2`  #### Wikibase as the description source Note that this method is currently untested due to issues I experienced when setting up Wikibase. * Enable Wikibase client + repo in your wiki * Add `$wgCitizenSearchDescriptionSource = 'wikidata';` to your LocalSettings.php * Have an item with a description like `<img src="" onerror="alert('citizen search xss 3')">` * Open the search modal and search for the page linked to the item #### ShortDescription as the description source * Enable the ShortDescription extension * Add `$wgCitizenSearchDescriptionSource = 'wikidata';` to your LocalSettings.php * Create a page called `CitizenXSSDescription4` and insert `{{SHORTDESC:<img src="" onerror="alert('citizen search xss 4')">}}` into it * Open the search modal and search for `CitizenXSSDescription4` ### Impact On all wikis that use the aforementioned settings (command palette disabled or using an old release where the old search bar is still used; using the action API as the search gateway), anybody who can edit pages is able to insert XSS payloads into the DOM for other users who are searching for specific pages.
also known as (3)
Other names and identifiers for this entity.
sources
Which sources assert this record, and when.
references (11)
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/commit/aedbceb3380bb48db6b59e272fc187529c71c8cacnnvd
- https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/releasesPatchcnnvd
- https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/releases/tag/v3.4.0cnnvd
- https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/security/advisories/GHSA-rq6g-6g94-jfr4cnnvd
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-53368cnnvd
- https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/commit/aedbceb3380bb48db6b59e272fc187529c71c8caenisa_euvd
- https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/releases/tag/v3.4.0enisa_euvd
- https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/security/advisories/GHSA-rq6g-6g94-jfr4enisa_euvd
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