CVE-2025-66488 | Discourse allows script execution in uploaded HTML/XML files on S3

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. A vulnerability present in versions prior to 3.5.4, 2025.11.2, 2025.12.1, and 2026.1.0 affects anyone who uses S3 for uploads. While scripts may be executed, they will only be run in the context of the S3/CDN domain, with no site credentials. Versions 3.5.4, 2025.11.2, 2025.12.1, and 2026.1.0 fix the issue. As a workaround, disallow html or xml files for uploads in authorized_extensions. For existing html xml uploads, site owners can consider deleting them.

Published: 2026-01-28 Last update: 2026-01-30 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2025-66488 is rated Low Risk (21.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.03%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2025-66488

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 2026-01-29 — 0.03% —

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-66488

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.6 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L 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:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 2.1 2.5 [email protected]
6.1 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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.
 2.8 2.7 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-66488

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-66488

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
discourse discourse < 3.5.4 cpe:2.3:a:discourse:discourse:*:*:*:*:stable:*:*:*
discourse discourse >= 2025.11.0, < 2025.11.2 cpe:2.3:a:discourse:discourse:*:*:*:*:stable:*:*:*
discourse discourse 2025.12.0 cpe:2.3:a:discourse:discourse:2025.12.0:*:*:*:stable:*:*:*
discourse discourse 2026.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:discourse:discourse:2026.1.0:*:*:*:stable:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-66488

cvelogic Threat Intelligence