Citizen vulnerable to Stored XSS through short descriptions
Summary
Short descriptions set via the ShortDescription extension are inserted as raw HTML by the Citizen skin, allowing any user to insert arbitrary HTML into the DOM by editing a page.
Details
The shortdesc property, which contains unsanitized user input, is retrieved from the OutputPage and returned as the tagline:
https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/blob/0d8a44011e02a081618359a1e90f462478e807aa/includes/Components/CitizenComponentPageHeading.php#L249-L251
The tagline is then provided to the template data:
https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/blob/0d8a44011e02a081618359a1e90f462478e807aa/includes/Components/CitizenComponentPageHeading.php#L270-L275
The template then inserts the tagline into raw HTML without doing any escaping:
https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/blob/0d8a44011e02a081618359a1e90f462478e807aa/templates/PageHeading.mustache#L12
PoC
- Enable Citizen and ShortDescription
- Add
{{SHORTDESC:<img src="" onerror="alert('citizen shortdescription xss')">}}to a page - Visit the page
Impact
Arbitrary HTML can be inserted into the DOM by any user, allowing for JavaScript to be executed.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Composer package | starcitizentools/citizen-skin | >= 1.9.4, < 3.4.0 | 3.4.0 |
References
- https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/security/advisories/GHSA-prmv-7r8c-794g
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-53370
- https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/commit/aedbceb3380bb48db6b59e272fc187529c71c8ca
- https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/commit/c85a40bddc8651fff66df83a72debddcb34f0521
- https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen
- https://github.com/StarCitizenTools/mediawiki-skins-Citizen/releases/tag/v3.4.0
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-79- Platform
- Composer
- Package
starcitizentools/citizen-skin- Disclosed
- 03.07.2025
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-prmv-7r8c-794g - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: starcitizentools/citizen-skin
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Composer package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 9
- First → latest
- 09.2024 10.2025
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- High 2
- Medium 7
Disclosures per year
- 2024: 1
- 2025: 8
- 2026: 0
-
Citizen vulnerable to Stored XSS through short descriptions this entry
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