CVE-2025-53486

WikiCategoryTagCloud: Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) via linkstyle attribute in parser function

Description

The WikiCategoryTagCloud extension is vulnerable to reflected XSS via the linkstyle attribute, which is improperly concatenated into inline HTML without escaping. An attacker can inject JavaScript event handlers such as onmouseenter using carefully crafted input via the {{#tag:tagcloud}} parser function, resulting in arbitrary JavaScript execution when a victim hovers over a link in the category cloud. The vulnerability exists because the linkstyle parameter is only passed through Sanitizer::checkCss() (which does not escape HTML) and is then directly inserted into a style attribute using string concatenation instead of Html::element or Html::openElement. This issue affects Mediawiki - WikiCategoryTagCloud extension: from 1.39.X before 1.39.13, from 1.42.X before 1.42.7, from 1.43.X before 1.43.2.

Category

5.4
CVSS
Severity: Medium
CVSS 3.1 •
EPSS 0.03%
Affected: Wikimedia Foundation Mediawiki - WikiCategoryTagCloud extension
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2025-53486?
CVE-2025-53486 has been scored as a medium severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2025-53486?
To fix CVE-2025-53486, make sure you are using an up-to-date version of the affected component(s) by checking the vendor release notes. As for now, there are no other specific guidelines available.
Is CVE-2025-53486 being actively exploited in the wild?
As for now, there are no information to confirm that CVE-2025-53486 is being actively exploited. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~0% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2025-53486?
CVE-2025-53486 affects Wikimedia Foundation Mediawiki - WikiCategoryTagCloud extension.
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