CVE-2026-77616

Semantic MediaWiki affected by reflected XSS in `Special:Ask` via a forged cursor pagination token

MEDIUM
6.1
CVSS Score
Published: September 18, 2026 at 04:58 PM UTC
Updated: September 24, 2026 at 09:37 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorSemantic MediaWiki

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Severity
MEDIUM6.1
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.3%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

Semantic MediaWiki is a free, open-source extension to MediaWiki that lets users store and query data within the wiki's pages. In versions 7.0.0 through 7.1.0, `Special:Ask` accepts a `cursor` query parameter for keyset pagination (added in 7.0.0). The token is decoded by `CursorEncoder`, which is an **unsigned** base64url-encoded JSON blob, so its contents are fully attacker-controlled. When the cursor's sort anchor does not match the request's `sort=` / `order=`, `QueryCreator::applyCursorIfRequested()` builds an error message by interpolating the attacker-controlled `sort_prop` / `sort_order` values into a raw string via `Query::addErrors()`. Unlike SMW's message-key errors, this raw string bypasses the message layer's sanitization (`ProcessingErrorMsgHandler::normalizeAndDecodeMessages()` passes a non-key, non-encoded string through unchanged). `ErrorWidget::queryError()` then assembles the errors and passes them to `Html::errorBox()`, whose first argument is emitted as raw HTML. The result is a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability: a crafted `cursor` token containing markup in `sort_prop` (or `sort_order`) executes script in the victim's browser on the wiki origin. No authentication or special permission is required. The payload is delivered via a crafted link. Version 7.2.0 contains a fix.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 7.2.0
Affected range stops below 7.2.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

6.1MEDIUMGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
CHANGED
Confidentiality
LOW
Integrity
LOW
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusAWAITING ANALYSIS
CWE
CWE-79

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