CVE-2026-44903: Github.com/prometheus/prometheus Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-fw8g-cg8f-9j28
CVSS 6.1
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-44903 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.1) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Github.com/prometheus/prometheus libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves prometheus vulnerable to stored xss via crafted histogram bucket label values in the old web ui heatmap display. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.311.3.

CVE-2026-44903 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-44903
GHSA Identifier GHSA-fw8g-cg8f-9j28
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 Github.com/prometheus/prometheus
Package Ecosystem Go
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-2026-44903

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

github.com/prometheus/prometheus fixed: 0.311.3
Upgrade github.com/prometheus/prometheus to 0.311.3
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 github.com/prometheus/prometheus

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-44903, inspect your project dependencies for Github.com/prometheus/prometheus:

inspect dependencies for github.com/prometheus/prometheus

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Github.com/prometheus/prometheus in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.311.3), 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 Github.com/prometheus/prometheus, 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 In the Prometheus server's legacy web UI (enabled via the command-line flag `--enable-feature=old-ui`), the histogram heatmap chart view does not escape `le` label values when inserting them into the HTML for use as axis tick mark labels. An attacker who can inject crafted metrics (e.g. via a compromised scrape target, remote write, or OTLP receiver endpoint) can execute JavaScript in the browser of any Prometheus user who views the metric in the heatmap chart UI. From the XSS context, an attacker could for example: - Read `/api/v1/status/config` to extract sensitive configuration (although credentials / secrets are redacted by the server) - Call `/-/quit` to shut down Prometheus (only if `--web.enable-lifecycle` is set) - Call `/api/v1/admin/tsdb/delete_series` to delete data (only if `--web.enable-admin-api` is set) - Exfiltrate metric data to an external server Note that this only affects users who have explicitly enabled the legacy Prometheus web UI using the `--enable-feature=old-ui` command-line flag. ### Patches https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus/commit/38f23b9075ced1de2b82d2dad8b2bebb1ecd5b7d ### Workarounds If at all possible, disable the legacy web UI by removing the `--enable-feature=old-ui` command-line flag). If this is not an option, take the following precautions: - If using the remote write receiver (`--web.enable-remote-write-receiver`), ensure it is not exposed to untrusted sources. - If using the OTLP receiver (`--web.enable-otlp-receiver`), ensure it is not exposed to untrusted sources. - Ensure scrape targets are trusted and not under attacker control. - Do not enable admin / mutating API endpoints (e.g. `--web.enable-admin-api` or `web.enable-lifecycle`) in cases where you cannot prevent untrusted data from being ingested. - Users should avoid clicking untrusted links, especially those containing functions such as `label_replace`, as they may generate poisoned label names and values. ### References - CVE-2019-10215 — prior stored DOM XSS vulnerability in Prometheus query history, fixed in v2.7.2 - CVE-2026-40179 — prior stored DOM XSS vulnerability in Prometheus web UI (hover tooltips and metrics explorer), fixed in v3.11.2

CVE-2026-44903 Affected Github.com/prometheus/prometheus Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.311.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
github.com/prometheus/prometheus
Go
< 0.311.3
0.311.3

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-44903?
CVE-2026-44903 is a security vulnerability in Github.com/prometheus/prometheus involving Prometheus vulnerable to stored XSS via crafted histogram bucket label values in the old web UI heatmap display under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Github.com/prometheus/prometheus versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.311.3 across affected packages: github.com/prometheus/prometheus.
What version fixes CVE-2026-44903?
Upgrading to 0.311.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/prometheus/prometheus affected?
Yes, github.com/prometheus/prometheus is affected in releases prior to 0.311.3. Upgrade your dependency to 0.311.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-44903?
CVE-2026-44903 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-2026-44903?
CVE-2026-44903 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 Go dependencies for CVE-2026-44903?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/prometheus/prometheus'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-fw8g-cg8f-9j28",
  "modified" : "2026-06-08T23:34:45Z",
  "published" : "2026-05-05T21:53:18Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-44903" ],
  "summary" : "Prometheus vulnerable to stored XSS via crafted histogram bucket label values in the old web UI heatmap display",
  "details" : "### Impact\n\nIn the Prometheus server's legacy web UI (enabled via the command-line flag `--enable-feature=old-ui`), the histogram heatmap chart view does not escape `le` label values when inserting them into the HTML for use as axis tick mark labels.\n\nAn attacker who can inject crafted metrics (e.g. via a compromised scrape target, remote write, or OTLP receiver endpoint) can execute JavaScript in the browser of any Prometheus user who views the metric in the heatmap chart UI. From the XSS context, an attacker could for example:\n\n- Read `/api/v1/status/config` to extract sensitive configuration (although credentials / secrets are redacted by the server)\n- Call `/-/quit` to shut down Prometheus (only if `--web.enable-lifecycle` is set)\n- Call `/api/v1/admin/tsdb/delete_series` to delete data (only if `--web.enable-admin-api` is set)\n- Exfiltrate metric data to an external server\n\nNote that this only affects users who have explicitly enabled the legacy Prometheus web UI using the `--enable-feature=old-ui` command-line flag.\n\n### Patches\n\nhttps://github.com/prometheus/prometheus/commit/38f23b9075ced1de2b82d2dad8b2bebb1ecd5b7d\n\n### Workarounds\n\nIf at all possible, disable the legacy web UI by removing the `--enable-feature=old-ui` command-line flag).\n\nIf this is not an option, take the following precautions:\n\n- If using the remote write receiver (`--web.enable-remote-write-receiver`), ensure it is not exposed to untrusted sources.\n- If using the OTLP receiver (`--web.enable-otlp-receiver`), ensure it is not exposed to untrusted sources.\n- Ensure scrape targets are trusted and not under attacker control.\n- Do not enable admin / mutating API endpoints (e.g. `--web.enable-admin-api` or `web.enable-lifecycle`) in cases where you cannot prevent untrusted data from being ingested.\n- Users should avoid clicking untrusted links, especially those containing functions such as `label_replace`, as they may generate poisoned label names and values.\n\n### References\n\n- CVE-2019-10215 — prior stored DOM XSS vulnerability in Prometheus query history, fixed in v2.7.2\n- CVE-2026-40179 — prior stored DOM XSS vulnerability in Prometheus web UI (hover tooltips and metrics explorer), fixed in v3.11.2",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/prometheus/prometheus"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.311.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus/security/advisories/GHSA-fw8g-cg8f-9j28"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44903"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus/commit/38f23b9075ced1de2b82d2dad8b2bebb1ecd5b7d"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-05-05T21:53:18Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-05-26T22:16:43Z"
  }
}