CVE-2023-25571 | Backstage has XSS Vulnerability in Software Catalog

Backstage is an open platform for building developer portals. `@backstage/catalog-model` prior to version 1.2.0, `@backstage/core-components` prior to 0.12.4, and `@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend` prior to 1.7.2 are affected by a cross-site scripting vulnerability. This vulnerability allows a malicious actor with access to add or modify content in an instance of the Backstage software catalog to inject script URLs in the entities stored in the catalog. If users of the catalog then click on said URLs, that can lead to an XSS attack. This vulnerability has been patched in both the frontend and backend implementations. The default `Link` component from `@backstage/core-components` version 1.2.0 and greater will now reject `javascript:` URLs, and there is a global override of `window.open` to do the same. In addition, the catalog model v0.12.4 and greater as well as the catalog backend v1.7.2 and greater now has additional validation built in that prevents `javascript:` URLs in known annotations. As a workaround, the general practice of limiting access to modifying catalog content and requiring code reviews greatly help mitigate this vulnerability.

Published: 2023-02-14 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-25571 is rated Moderate Risk (52.5/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.69%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-25571

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-02-15 0.43% 0.69% +0.26%
2 2025-11-21 0.70% 0.43% -0.27%
3 2025-11-18 — 0.70% —

Full EPSS history (11 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-25571

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.8 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 2.3 4.0 [email protected]
5.4 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 2.3 2.7 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-25571

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-25571

GHSA-7hv8-3fr9-j2hv · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: npm — Cross site scripting Vulnerability in backstage Software Catalog

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-25571

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linuxfoundation backstage_catalog-model < 1.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:backstage_catalog-model:*:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:*
linuxfoundation backstage_core-components < 0.12.4 cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:backstage_core-components:*:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:*
linuxfoundation backstage_plugin-catalog-backend < 1.7.2 cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:backstage_plugin-catalog-backend:*:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:*

References for CVE-2023-25571

cvelogic Threat Intelligence