CVE-2017-11503: Phpmailer/phpmailer Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-58mj-pw57-4vm2
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CVSS 6.1
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2017-11503 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.1) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Phpmailer/phpmailer libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves cross-site scripting in phpmailer. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.2.24.

CVE-2017-11503 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2017-11503
GHSA Identifier GHSA-58mj-pw57-4vm2
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 Phpmailer/phpmailer
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:3.0/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-2017-11503

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

phpmailer/phpmailer fixed: 5.2.24 
Upgrade phpmailer/phpmailer to 5.2.24
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 phpmailer/phpmailer

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2017-11503, inspect your project dependencies for Phpmailer/phpmailer:

inspect dependencies for phpmailer/phpmailer

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Phpmailer/phpmailer in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.2.24), 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 Phpmailer/phpmailer, 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

PHPMailer versions prior to 5.2.24 (released July 26th 2017) have an XSS vulnerability in one of the code examples, CVE-2017-11503. The code_generator.phps example did not filter user input prior to output. This file is distributed with a `.phps` extension, so it it not normally executable unless it is explicitly renamed, and the file is not included when PHPMailer is loaded through composer, so it is safe by default. There was also an undisclosed potential XSS vulnerability in the default exception handler (unused by default). Patches for both issues kindly provided by Patrick Monnerat of the Fedora Project. ### Impact PHPMailer 5.2.23 has XSS in the "From Email Address" and "To Email Address" fields of code_generator.php. ### Patches Fixed in 5.2.24 ### Workarounds None. ### References https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-11503 ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open a private issue in [the PHPMailer project](https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer)

CVE-2017-11503 Affected Phpmailer/phpmailer Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.2.24
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
phpmailer/phpmailer
 Packagist
≥ 5.0.0
< 5.2.24
5.2.24

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/security/advisories/GHSA-58mj-pw57-4vm2
NVD — CVE-2017-11503 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-11503
Phpmailer/phpmailer Security Information SECURITY
https://cxsecurity.com/issue/WLB-2017060181
Phpmailer/phpmailer Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/phpmailer/phpmailer/CVE-2017-11503.yaml
Phpmailer/phpmailer Release RELEASE
https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/releases/tag/v5.2.24
Phpmailer/phpmailer Security Information SECURITY
https://packetstormsecurity.com/files/143138/phpmailer-xss.txt
Phpmailer/phpmailer Security Information SECURITY
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/99293
Phpmailer/phpmailer Security Information SECURITY
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039026

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2017-11503?
CVE-2017-11503 is a security vulnerability in Phpmailer/phpmailer involving Cross-site scripting in PHPMailer under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Phpmailer/phpmailer versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.2.24 across affected packages: phpmailer/phpmailer.
What version fixes CVE-2017-11503?
Upgrading to 5.2.24 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is phpmailer/phpmailer affected?
Yes, phpmailer/phpmailer is affected in releases prior to 5.2.24. Upgrade your dependency to 5.2.24 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-11503?
CVE-2017-11503 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2017-11503?
CVE-2017-11503 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-2017-11503?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for phpmailer/phpmailer'. 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-58mj-pw57-4vm2",
  "modified" : "2021-08-19T19:44:10Z",
  "published" : "2020-03-05T22:09:13Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2017-11503" ],
  "summary" : "Cross-site scripting in PHPMailer",
  "details" : "PHPMailer versions prior to 5.2.24 (released July 26th 2017) have an XSS vulnerability in one of the code examples, CVE-2017-11503. The code_generator.phps example did not filter user input prior to output. This file is distributed with a `.phps` extension, so it it not normally executable unless it is explicitly renamed, and the file is not included when PHPMailer is loaded through composer, so it is safe by default. There was also an undisclosed potential XSS vulnerability in the default exception handler (unused by default). Patches for both issues kindly provided by Patrick Monnerat of the Fedora Project.\n\n### Impact\nPHPMailer 5.2.23 has XSS in the &quot;From Email Address&quot; and &quot;To Email Address&quot; fields of code_generator.php.\n\n### Patches\nFixed in 5.2.24\n\n### Workarounds\nNone.\n\n### References\nhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-11503\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Open a private issue in [the PHPMailer project](https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer)",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "phpmailer/phpmailer"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "5.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.2.24"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/security/advisories/GHSA-58mj-pw57-4vm2"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-11503"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://cxsecurity.com/issue/WLB-2017060181"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/phpmailer/phpmailer/CVE-2017-11503.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/releases/tag/v5.2.24"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://packetstormsecurity.com/files/143138/phpmailer-xss.txt"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/99293"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039026"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-03-05T22:06:39Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}