CVE-2020-15156: Nodebb plugin blog comments Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-43m5-c88r-cjvv
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CVSS 6.8
CWE-352
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-15156 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.8) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)) affecting Nodebb plugin blog comments libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves xss due to lack of csrf validation for replying/publishing. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.7.0.

CVE-2020-15156 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-15156
GHSA Identifier GHSA-43m5-c88r-cjvv
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.8
CWE Classification CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Affected Product Nodebb plugin blog comments
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2020-15156

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Nodebb plugin blog comments dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

nodebb-plugin-blog-comments fixed: 0.7.0 
npm install nodebb-plugin-blog-comments@0.7.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

npm ls nodebb-plugin-blog-comments

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2020-15156, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls nodebb-plugin-blog-comments

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Nodebb plugin blog comments in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.7.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls nodebb-plugin-blog-comments command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), where the web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor. In Nodebb plugin blog comments, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Impact Due to lack of CSRF validation, a logged in user is potentially vulnerable to an XSS attack which could allow a third party to post on their behalf on the forum. ### Patches Upgrade to the latest version v0.7.0 ### Workarounds You can cherry-pick the following commit: [https://github.com/psychobunny/nodebb-plugin-blog-comments/commit/cf43beedb05131937ef46f365ab0a0c6fa6ac618](https://github.com/psychobunny/nodebb-plugin-blog-comments/commit/cf43beedb05131937ef46f365ab0a0c6fa6ac618) ### References Visit https://community.nodebb.org if you have any questions about this issue or on how to patch / upgrade your instance.

CVE-2020-15156 Affected Nodebb plugin blog comments Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.7.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
nodebb-plugin-blog-comments
npm/nodebb-plugin-blog-comments
npm
< 0.7.0
0.7.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/psychobunny/nodebb-plugin-blog-comments/security/advisories/GHSA-43m5-c88r-cjvv
NVD — CVE-2020-15156 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15156
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/psychobunny/nodebb-plugin-blog-comments/commit/cf43beedb05131937ef46f365ab0a0c6fa6ac618
www.npmjs.com/package/nodebb-plug... WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/package/nodebb-plugin-blog-comments

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-15156?
CVE-2020-15156 is a security vulnerability in Nodebb plugin blog comments involving XSS due to lack of CSRF validation for replying/publishing under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF).
Which Nodebb plugin blog comments versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.7.0 across affected packages: nodebb-plugin-blog-comments.
What version fixes CVE-2020-15156?
Upgrading to 0.7.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is nodebb-plugin-blog-comments affected?
Yes, nodebb-plugin-blog-comments is affected in releases prior to 0.7.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.7.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-15156?
CVE-2020-15156 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.8 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-15156?
CVE-2020-15156 is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (The web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2020-15156?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls nodebb-plugin-blog-comments'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-43m5-c88r-cjvv",
  "modified" : "2021-01-07T23:39:51Z",
  "published" : "2020-08-26T18:55:38Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-15156" ],
  "summary" : "XSS due to lack of CSRF validation for replying/publishing",
  "details" : "### Impact\nDue to lack of CSRF validation, a logged in user is potentially vulnerable to an XSS attack which could allow a third party to post on their behalf on the forum.\n\n### Patches\nUpgrade to the latest version v0.7.0\n\n### Workarounds\nYou can cherry-pick the following commit: [https://github.com/psychobunny/nodebb-plugin-blog-comments/commit/cf43beedb05131937ef46f365ab0a0c6fa6ac618](https://github.com/psychobunny/nodebb-plugin-blog-comments/commit/cf43beedb05131937ef46f365ab0a0c6fa6ac618)\n\n### References\nVisit https://community.nodebb.org if you have any questions about this issue or on how to patch / upgrade your instance.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "nodebb-plugin-blog-comments"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.7.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/psychobunny/nodebb-plugin-blog-comments/security/advisories/GHSA-43m5-c88r-cjvv"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15156"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/psychobunny/nodebb-plugin-blog-comments/commit/cf43beedb05131937ef46f365ab0a0c6fa6ac618"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/package/nodebb-plugin-blog-comments"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-352" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-08-26T18:55:19Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}