RELATE Vulnerable to Stored XSS via Unprivileged User Profile

published 2026-05-27 5 mo ago modified 2026-10-26 14 d ago also EUVD-2026-32627

cvss: 8.7; version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 0.3%; EPSS 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 23%
public exploits: 0; none known

RELATE is a web-based courseware package. Versions prior to commit 555f0efb1c5bd7531c07cd73724d7e566a81f620 have a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows any enrolled student to execute arbitrary JavaScript in an administrator's browser session, potentially leading to full admin account takeover. The `get_user()` method in `ParticipationAdmin` renders user-controlled input using `mark_safe` combined with Python's % string formatting. This bypasses Django\'s automatic HTML escaping entirely. The value returned by `get_full_name` is derived directly from the `first_name` and `last_name` fields of the User model. These fields are freely editable by any authenticated user through the profile page (`/profile/`) with no sanitization applied. When an admin views the Participation list in the Django admin panel, the unsanitized value is rendered directly into the HTML response, causing the injected script to execute in the admin's browser. Commit 555f0efb1c5bd7531c07cd73724d7e566a81f620 fixes the issue.

Patch / fix

links 1

github.com/inducer/relate@555f0ef commit

CISA SSVC

Exploitation: none
Automatable: no
Technical impact: total
Assessed: 5 mo ago (2026-05-28)

Exploit prediction

0.31% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 23% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
CNA	3.1	8.7	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

Affected products

inducer relate

Classification

Weakness

CWE-79 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation

References

Sources

CVE List CVE-2026-42197
NVD CVE-2026-42197

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

CPEs and fixed versions use Anchore's correction of NVD's data: Added CPE configurations because not yet analyzed by NVD.

Summary