Vulnerability Database

352,262

Total vulnerabilities in the database

CVE-2026-52798 — gogs.io/gogs

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

Summary

Although .ipynb previews are sanitized on the server side via /-/api/sanitize_ipynb, the inserted content is re-rendered on the client side without sanitization using marked() on elements with the .nb-markdown-cell class. During this process, links containing schemes such as javascript: can be regenerated.

As a result, when a victim views an attacker-crafted .ipynb file and clicks the link, arbitrary JavaScript is executed in the Gogs origin, leading to a click-based Stored XSS.

Details

After the rendered output of a .ipynb file is sanitized via /-/api/sanitize_ipynb and inserted into the DOM, only the Markdown cell portions are re-rendered using marked() and overwritten in the DOM. During this process, links with the javascript: scheme can be regenerated.

templates/repo/view_file.tmpl:42–71

{{else if .IsIPythonNotebook}} <script> $.getJSON("{{.RawFileLink}}", null, function(notebook_json) { var notebook = nb.parse(notebook_json); var rendered = notebook.render(); $.ajax({ type: "POST", url: '{{AppSubURL}}/-/api/sanitize_ipynb', data: rendered.outerHTML, processData: false, contentType: false, }).done(function(data) { $("#ipython-notebook").append(data); $("#ipython-notebook code").each(function(i, block) { $(block).addClass("py").addClass("python"); hljs.highlightBlock(block); }); // Overwrite image method to append proper prefix to the source URL var renderer = new marked.Renderer(); var context = '{{.RawFileLink}}'; context = context.substring(0, context.lastIndexOf("/")); renderer.image = function (href, title, text) { return `<img src="${context}/${href}"` }; $("#ipython-notebook .nb-markdown-cell").each(function(i, markdown) { $(markdown).html(marked($(markdown).html(), {renderer: renderer})); }); }); }); </script>

While regular HTML pages (including .ipynb preview pages) are served without a Content Security Policy (CSP), CSP headers are applied only to attachment delivery routes.

internal/cmd/web.go:323

c.Header().Set("Content-Security-Policy", "default-src 'none'; style-src 'unsafe-inline'; sandbox")

Steps to Reproduce

  1. As the attacker, add and push/commit a .ipynb file containing a javascript: link in a Markdown cell to a repository.

    • Example (PoC):

      { "nbformat": 4, "nbformat_minor": 2, "metadata": {}, "cells": [ { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "[poc](javascript:alert(document.domain))" ] } ] }
  2. The victim opens the file on Gogs (e.g., /&lt;user&gt;/&lt;repo&gt;/src/&lt;branch&gt;/poc.ipynb). <img width="2386" height="1218" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b0d93fd8-c5ca-4058-8af0-98dee590d3ad" />

  3. When the victim clicks the poc link displayed in the preview, alert(document.domain) is executed in the same Gogs origin. <img width="2390" height="1388" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0eb6ebe8-632c-4a41-8a11-46471514b4c4" />

Minimum Required Privileges

  • Attacker: Ability to place a .ipynb file as a regular (non-admin) user

    • For example: a general user who can create a public repository and add files.
    • Or: write access (collaborator, etc.) to an existing repository that the victim will view.
  • Victim: Permission to view the repository (a click is required).

Impact

  • Unauthorized actions performed with the victim’s account privileges (e.g., repository settings changes, Issue operations,誘導 to token creation).
  • Theft of information accessible to the victim (repository/Issue/Wiki contents, tokens exposed in page context).
  • If the victim is an administrator, the impact may escalate to instance-wide configuration changes and user management.

CVSS v3:

  • Severity: High
  • Score: 8.9
  • AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L

Frequently Asked Questions

A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.

A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.

Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.

Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.

SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.