CVE-2026-70596: Ghost Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-pr22-p9rp-2cqv
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CVSS 4.3
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-70596 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.3) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Ghost libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves cross-site scripting in feature image captions. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 6.54.1.

CVE-2026-70596 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-70596
GHSA Identifier GHSA-pr22-p9rp-2cqv
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.3
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Ghost
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.3

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required High (PR:H)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability Low (A:L)

How to Fix CVE-2026-70596

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

ghost fixed: 6.54.1 
npm install ghost@6.54.1
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 ghost

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2026-70596, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls ghost

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ghost in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 6.54.1), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls ghost 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-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 Ghost, 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 An input validation issue allowed any staff user to create a post with content that could be used to hijack another staff user's Ghost Admin session resulting in privilege escalation. ### Vulnerable versions This vulnerability is present in Ghost from v4.9.0 up to v6.54.0. ### Patches v6.54.1 contains a fix for this issue. ### How to update For self-hosters using Docker, find [Docker's official Ghost image here](https://hub.docker.com/_/ghost). Updating a Docker-based Ghost instance [is documented here](https://docs.ghost.org/install/docker#updating-ghost). If your Ghost is a Ghost-CLI install see our documentation on [updating it to the latest version here](https://docs.ghost.org/update). ### References Ghost thanks Versa for disclosing this vulnerability responsibly. ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, email Ghost at [security@ghost.org](mailto:security@ghost.org).

CVE-2026-70596 Affected Ghost Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
6.54.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ghost
npm/ghost
npm
≥ 4.9.0
< 6.54.1
6.54.1

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/security/advisories/GHSA-pr22-p9rp-2cqv
Ghost Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/pull/29635
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/commit/a8bea3a4ceec4c852b880f4885119453c3d8588e
Ghost Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost
Ghost Release RELEASE
https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.54.1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-70596?
CVE-2026-70596 is a security vulnerability in Ghost involving Cross-Site Scripting in Feature Image Captions under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Ghost versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 6.54.1 across affected packages: ghost.
What version fixes CVE-2026-70596?
Upgrading to 6.54.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ghost affected?
Yes, ghost is affected in releases prior to 6.54.1. Upgrade your dependency to 6.54.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-70596?
CVE-2026-70596 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-70596?
CVE-2026-70596 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 npm dependencies for CVE-2026-70596?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls ghost'. 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-pr22-p9rp-2cqv",
  "modified" : "2026-08-05T14:40:57Z",
  "published" : "2026-08-05T14:40:15Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-70596" ],
  "summary" : "Ghost: Cross-Site Scripting in Feature Image Captions",
  "details" : "### Impact\n\nAn input validation issue allowed any staff user to create a post with content that could be used to hijack another staff user's Ghost Admin session resulting in privilege escalation.\n\n### Vulnerable versions\n\nThis vulnerability is present in Ghost from v4.9.0 up to v6.54.0.\n\n### Patches\n\nv6.54.1 contains a fix for this issue.\n\n### How to update\n\nFor self-hosters using Docker, find [Docker's official Ghost image here](https://hub.docker.com/_/ghost). Updating a Docker-based Ghost instance [is documented here](https://docs.ghost.org/install/docker#updating-ghost). \n\nIf your Ghost is a Ghost-CLI install see our documentation on [updating it to the latest version here](https://docs.ghost.org/update). \n\n### References\n\nGhost thanks Versa for disclosing this vulnerability responsibly.\n\n### For more information\n\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory, email Ghost at [security@ghost.org](mailto:security@ghost.org).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "ghost"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.9.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "6.54.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/security/advisories/GHSA-pr22-p9rp-2cqv"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/pull/29635"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/commit/a8bea3a4ceec4c852b880f4885119453c3d8588e"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.54.1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-08-05T14:40:15Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}