CVE-2025-45406: Withdrawn Advisory Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-49jm-g4m8-x53p
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CVSS 6.1
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-45406 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.1) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Withdrawn Advisory libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves codeigniter4 cross-site scripting vulnerability in debugbar_time parameter. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2025-45406 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-45406
GHSA Identifier GHSA-49jm-g4m8-x53p
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.1
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Withdrawn Advisory
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.1

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Changed (S:C)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2025-45406

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Withdrawn Advisory dependencies to a patched release.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

codeigniter4/framework fixed: Latest secure release 
Upgrade codeigniter4/framework to Latest secure release
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for codeigniter4/framework

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2025-45406, inspect your project dependencies for Withdrawn Advisory:

inspect dependencies for codeigniter4/framework

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Withdrawn Advisory in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Withdrawn Advisory, 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

### Withdrawn Advisory This advisory has been withdrawn because the original report was found to be invalid. This link is maintained to preserve external references. For more information, see https://github.com/github/advisory-database/pull/5862. ### Original Description A stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in CodeIgniter4 v4.6.0 allows attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML via a crafted payload injected into the debugbar_time parameter.

CVE-2025-45406 Affected Withdrawn Advisory Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
codeigniter4/framework
 Packagist
≤ 4.6.2

References

NVD — CVE-2025-45406 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15943
NVD — CVE-2025-45406 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-45406
Withdrawn Advisory Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/codeigniter4/CodeIgniter4
Withdrawn Advisory Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/codeigniter4/CodeIgniter4/blob/v4.6.2/system/Debug/Toolbar.php#L496
Withdrawn Advisory Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/codeigniter4/framework/blob/v4.6.2/system/Debug/Toolbar.php#L496
medium.com/@talktoshweta0/when... WEB
https://medium.com/@talktoshweta0/when-debugging-bites-back-exposing-a-persistent-xss-in-codeigniter4-c9caf804a190
www.exploit-db.com/exploits/50556 WEB
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/50556

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-45406?
CVE-2025-45406 is a security vulnerability in Withdrawn Advisory involving CodeIgniter4 Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability in debugbar_time Parameter under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Withdrawn Advisory versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: codeigniter4/framework.
What version fixes CVE-2025-45406?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is codeigniter4/framework affected?
Yes, codeigniter4/framework is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-45406?
CVE-2025-45406 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-45406?
CVE-2025-45406 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2025-45406?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for codeigniter4/framework'. 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-49jm-g4m8-x53p",
  "modified" : "2025-07-29T14:30:17Z",
  "published" : "2025-07-25T18:30:41Z",
  "withdrawn" : "2025-07-29T14:30:17Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-45406" ],
  "summary" : "Withdrawn Advisory: CodeIgniter4 Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability in debugbar_time Parameter",
  "details" : "### Withdrawn Advisory\nThis advisory has been withdrawn because the original report was found to be invalid. This link is maintained to preserve external references. For more information, see https://github.com/github/advisory-database/pull/5862.\n\n### Original Description\nA stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in CodeIgniter4 v4.6.0 allows attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML via a crafted payload injected into the debugbar_time parameter.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "codeigniter4/framework"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "4.6.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15943"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-45406"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/codeigniter4/CodeIgniter4"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/codeigniter4/CodeIgniter4/blob/v4.6.2/system/Debug/Toolbar.php#L496"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/codeigniter4/framework/blob/v4.6.2/system/Debug/Toolbar.php#L496"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://medium.com/@talktoshweta0/when-debugging-bites-back-exposing-a-persistent-xss-in-codeigniter4-c9caf804a190"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/50556"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-07-28T16:07:43Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-07-25T17:15:32Z"
  }
}