Vulnerabilities

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. Improper escaping of user input allowed for Cross-site Scripting attacks via the digest email preview UI. This issue only affects sites with CSP disabled. This issue has been patched in the 3.1.1 stable release as well as the 3.2.0.beta1 release. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should ensure CSP is enabled on the forum.

Discourse is an open source community platform. In affected versions any user can create a topic and add arbitrary custom fields to a topic. The severity of this vulnerability depends on what plugins are installed and how the plugins uses topic custom fields. For a default Discourse installation with the default plugins, this vulnerability has no impact. The problem has been patched in the latest version of Discourse. Users are advised to update to version 3.1.1 if they are on the stable branch or 3.2.0.beta2 if they are on the beta branch. Users unable to upgrade should disable any plugins that access topic custom fields.

Discourse-jira is a Discourse plugin allows Jira projects, issue types, fields and field options will be synced automatically. An administrator user can make an SSRF attack by setting the Jira URL to an arbitrary location and enabling the `discourse_jira_verbose_log` site setting. A moderator user could manipulate the request path to the Jira API, allowing them to perform arbitrary GET requests using the Jira API credentials, potentially with elevated permissions, used by the application.

discourse-encrypt is a plugin that provides a secure communication channel through Discourse. Improper escaping of encrypted topic titles could lead to a cross site scripting (XSS) issue when a site has content security policy (CSP) headers disabled. Having CSP disabled is a non-default configuration, and having it disabled with discourse-encrypt installed will result in a warning in the Discourse admin dashboard. This has been fixed in commit `9c75810af9` which is included in the latest version of the discourse-encrypt plugin. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should ensure that CSP headers are enabled and properly configured.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.1.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.2.0.beta1 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a malicious admin could create extremely large icons sprites, which would then be cached in each server process. This may cause server processes to be killed and lead to downtime. The issue is patched in version 3.1.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.2.0.beta1 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. This is only a concern for multisite installations. No action is required when the admins are trusted.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.1.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.2.0.beta1 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, importing a remote theme loads their assets into memory without enforcing limits for file size or number of files. The issue is patched in version 3.1.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.2.0.beta1 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.1.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.2.0.beta1 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a malicious user could add a 2FA or security key with a carefully crafted name to their account and cause a denial of service for other users. The issue is patched in version 3.1.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.2.0.beta1 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.1.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.2.0.beta1 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a malicious user can create an unlimited number of drafts with very long draft keys which may end up exhausting the resources on the server. The issue is patched in version 3.1.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.2.0.beta1 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, information about restricted-visibility topic tags could be obtained by unauthorized users. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, in multiple controller actions, Discourse accepts limit params but does not impose any upper bound on the values being accepted. Without an upper bound, the software may allow arbitrary users to generate DB queries which may end up exhausting the resources on the server. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a malicious user can prevent the defer queue from proceeding promptly on sites hosted in the same multisite installation. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. Users of multisite configurations should upgrade.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a malicious user can edit a post in a topic and cause a DoS with a carefully crafted edit reason. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, more users than permitted could be created from invite links. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. As a workaround, use restrict to email address invites.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.1.0.beta7 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a CSP (Content Security Policy) nonce reuse vulnerability was discovered could allow cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks to bypass CSP protection for anonymous (i.e. unauthenticated) users. There are no known XSS vectors at the moment, but should one be discovered, this vulnerability would allow the XSS attack to bypass CSP and execute successfully. This vulnerability isn't applicable to logged-in users. Version 3.1.0.beta7 contains a patch. The stable branch doesn't have this vulnerability. A workaround to prevent the vulnerability is to disable Google Tag Manager, i.e., unset the `gtm container id` setting.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. In affected versions a request to create or update custom sidebar section can cause a denial of service. This issue has been patched in commit `52b003d915`. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. When editing a topic, there is a vulnerability that enables a user to bypass the topic title validations for things like title length, number of emojis in title and blank topic titles. The issue is patched in the latest stable, beta and tests-passed version of Discourse.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. A CSP (Content Security Policy) nonce reuse vulnerability could allow XSS attacks to bypass CSP protection. There are no known XSS vectors at the moment, but should one be discovered, this vulnerability would allow the XSS attack to completely bypass CSP. The vulnerability is patched in the latest tests-passed, beta and stable branches.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.4 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta5 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, an attacker could use the new topics dismissal endpoint to reveal the number of topics recently created (but not the actual content thereof) in categories they didn't have access to. This issue is patched in version 3.0.4 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta5 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.4 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta5 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, multiple duplicate topics could be created if topic embedding is enabled. This issue is patched in version 3.0.4 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta5 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. As a workaround, disable topic embedding if it has been enabled.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.4 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta5 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, the lack of restrictions on the iFrame tag makes it easy for an attacker to exploit the vulnerability and hide subsequent comments from other users. This issue is patched in version 3.0.4 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta5 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.4 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta5 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, if a site has modified their general category permissions, they could be set back to the default. This issue is patched in version 3.0.4 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta5 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. A workaround, only if you are modifying the general category permissions, is to use a new category for the same purpose.

Discourse-reactions is a plugin that allows user to add their reactions to the post in the Discourse messaging platform. In affected versions data about what reactions were performed on a post in a private topic could be leaked. This issue has been addressed in version 0.3. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should disable the discourse-reactions plugin to fully mitigate the issue.

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. In affected versions a user logged as an administrator can call arbitrary methods on the `SiteSetting` class, notably `#clear_cache!` and `#notify_changed!`, which when done on a multisite instance, can affect the entire cluster resulting in a denial of service. Users not running in multisite environments are not affected. This issue is patched in the latest stable, beta and tests-passed versions of Discourse. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. Due to the improper sanitization of SVG files, an attacker can execute arbitrary JavaScript on the users’ browsers by uploading a crafted SVG file. This issue is patched in the latest stable and tests-passed versions of Discourse. Users are advised to upgrade. For users unable to upgrade there are two possible workarounds: enable CDN handing of uploads (and ensure the CDN sanitizes SVG files) or disable SVG file uploads by ensuring that the `authorized extensions` site setting does not include `svg` (or reset that setting to the default, by default Discourse doesn't enable SVG uploads by users).

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. This vulnerability is not exploitable on the default install of Discourse. A custom feature must be enabled for it to work at all, and the attacker’s payload must pass the CSP to be executed. However, if an attacker succeeds in embedding Javascript that does pass the CSP, it could result in session hijacking for any users that view the attacker’s post. The vulnerability is patched in the latest tests-passed, beta and stable branches. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should enable and/or restore your site's CSP to the default one provided with Discourse. Remove any embed-able hosts configured.

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. In affected versions a maliciously crafted request from a Discourse administrator can lead to a long-running request and eventual timeout. This has the greatest potential impact in shared hosting environments where admins are untrusted. This issue has been addressed in versions 3.0.3 and 3.1.0.beta4. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.1.0.beta3 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, some user provided URLs were being passed to FastImage without SSRF protection. Insufficient protections could enable attackers to trigger outbound network connections from the Discourse server to private IP addresses. This affects any site running the `tests-passed` or `beta` branches versions 3.1.0.beta2 and prior. This issue is patched in version 3.1.0.beta3 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.1.0.beta3 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, attackers are able to bypass Discourse's server-side request forgery (SSRF) protection for private IPv4 addresses by using a IPv4-mapped IPv6 address. The issue is patched in the latest beta and tests-passed version of Discourse. version 3.1.0.beta3 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.2 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta3 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a user logged as an administrator can request backups multiple times, which will eat up all the connections to the DB. If this is done on a site using multisite, then it can affect the whole cluster. The vulnerability is patched in version 3.0.2 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta3 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta2 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a maliciously crafted URL can be included in a user's full name field to to carry out cross-site scripting attacks on sites with a disabled or overly permissive CSP (Content Security Policy). Discourse's default CSP prevents this vulnerability. The vulnerability is patched in version 3.0.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta2 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. As a workaround, enable and/or restore your site's CSP to the default one provided with Discourse.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Between versions 3.1.0.beta2 and 3.1.0.beta3 of the `tests-passed` branch, editing or responding to a chat message containing malicious content could lead to a cross-site scripting attack. This issue is patched in version 3.1.0.beta3 of the `tests-passed` branch. There are no known workarounds.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta2 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, the count of topics displayed for a tag is a count of all regular topics regardless of whether the topic is in a read restricted category or not. As a result, any users can technically poll a sensitive tag to determine if a new topic is created in a category which the user does not have excess to. In version 3.0.1 of the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta2 of the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, the count of topics displayed for a tag defaults to only counting regular topics which are not in read restricted categories. Staff users will continue to see a count of all topics regardless of the topic's category read restrictions.

Discourse is an open-source messaging platform. In versions 3.0.1 and prior on the `stable` branch and versions 3.1.0.beta2 and prior on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, the count of personal messages displayed for a tag is a count of all personal messages regardless of whether the personal message is visible to a given user. As a result, any users can technically poll a sensitive tag to determine if a new personal message is created even if the user does not have access to the personal message. In the patched versions, the count of personal messages tagged with a given tag is hidden by default. To revert to the old behaviour of displaying the count of personal messages for a given tag, an admin may enable the `display_personal_messages_tag_counts` site setting.

discourse-yearly-review is a discourse plugin which publishes an automated Year in Review topic. In affected versions a user present in a yearly review topic that is then anonymised will still have some data linked to its original account. This issue has been patched in commit `b3ab33bbf7` which is included in the latest version of the Discourse Yearly Review plugin. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade may disable the `yearly_review_enabled` setting to fully mitigate the issue. Also, it's possible to edit the anonymised user's old data in the yearly review topics manually.

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. Tags that are normally private are showing in metadata. This affects any site running the `tests-passed` or `beta` branches >= 3.1.0.beta2. The issue is patched in the latest `beta` and `tests-passed` version of Discourse.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. In affected versions a malicious user can cause a regular expression denial of service using a carefully crafted git URL. This issue is patched in the latest stable, beta and tests-passed versions of Discourse. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this issue.

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. The embeddable comments can be exploited to create new topics as any user but without any clear title or content. This issue is patched in the latest stable, beta and tests-passed versions of Discourse. As a workaround, disable embeddable comments by deleting all embeddable hosts.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.1 on the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta2 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, someone can use the `exclude_tag param` to filter out topics and deduce which ones were using a specific hidden tag. This affects any Discourse site using hidden tags in public categories. This issue is patched in version 3.0.1 on the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta2 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. As a workaround, secure any categories that are using hidden tags, change any existing hidden tags to not include private data, or remove any hidden tags currently in use.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.1 on the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta2 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a malicious user can cause a regular expression denial of service using a carefully crafted user agent. This issue is patched in version 3.0.1 on the `stable` branch and version 3.1.0.beta2 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds.

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. Versions prior to 3.1.0.beta1 (beta) (tests-passed) are vulnerable to Allocation of Resources Without Limits. Users can create chat drafts of an unlimited length, which can cause a denial of service by generating an excessive load on the server. Additionally, an unlimited number of drafts were loaded when loading the user. This issue has been patched in version 2.1.0.beta1 (beta) and (tests-passed). Users should upgrade to the latest version where a limit has been introduced. There are no workarounds available.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.1 on the `stable` branch and 3.1.0.beta2 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, the contents of latest/top routes for restricted tags can be accessed by unauthorized users. This issue is patched in version 3.0.1 on the `stable` branch and 3.1.0.beta2 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds.

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.1 on the `stable` branch and 3.1.0.beta2 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, when submitting a membership request, there is no character limit for the reason provided with the request. This could potentially allow a user to flood the database with a large amount of data. However it is unlikely this could be used as part of a DoS attack, as the paths reading back the reasons are only available to administrators. Starting in version 3.0.1 on the `stable` branch and 3.1.0.beta2 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a limit of 280 characters has been introduced for membership requests.

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. Versions prior to 3.0.1 (stable), 3.1.0.beta2 (beta), and 3.1.0.beta2 (tests-passed) are subject to Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling. As there is no limit on data contained in a draft, a malicious user can create an arbitrarily large draft, forcing the instance to a crawl. This issue is patched in versions 3.0.1 (stable), 3.1.0.beta2 (beta), and 3.1.0.beta2 (tests-passed). There are no workarounds.

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. Versions prior to 2.8.13 (stable), 3.0.0.beta16 (beta) and 3.0.0beta16 (tests-passed), are vulnerable to cross-site Scripting. A maliciously crafted URL can be included in a post to carry out cross-site scripting attacks on sites with disabled or overly permissive CSP (Content Security Policy). Discourse's default CSP prevents this vulnerability. This vulnerability is patched in versions 2.8.13 (stable), 3.0.0.beta16 (beta) and 3.0.0beta16 (tests-passed). As a workaround, enable and/or restore your site's CSP to the default one provided with Discourse.

Discourse is an option source discussion platform. Prior to version 2.8.14 on the `stable` branch and version 3.0.0.beta16 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, tag descriptions, which can be updated by moderators, can be used for cross-site scripting attacks. This vulnerability can lead to a full XSS on sites which have modified or disabled Discourse’s default Content Security Policy. Versions 2.8.14 and 3.0.0.beta16 contain a patch.

Discourse is an option source discussion platform. Prior to version 2.8.14 on the `stable` branch and version 3.0.0.beta16 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, pending post titles can be used for cross-site scripting attacks. Pending posts can be created by unprivileged users when a category has the "require moderator approval of all new topics" setting set. This vulnerability can lead to a full XSS on sites which have modified or disabled Discourse’s default Content Security Policy. A patch is available in versions 2.8.14 and 3.0.0.beta16.

Discourse is an option source discussion platform. Prior to version 2.8.14 on the `stable` branch and version 3.0.0.beta16 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, the number of times a user posted in an arbitrary topic is exposed to unauthorized users through the `/u/username.json` endpoint. The issue is patched in version 2.8.14 and 3.0.0.beta16. There is no known workaround.

Discourse is an option source discussion platform. Prior to version 2.8.14 on the `stable` branch and version 3.0.0.beta16 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, when a user requests for a password reset link email, then changes their primary email, the old reset email is still valid. When the old reset email is used to reset the password, the Discourse account's primary email would be re-linked to the old email. If the old email address is compromised or has transferred ownership, this leads to an account takeover. This is however mitigated by the SiteSetting `email_token_valid_hours` which is currently 48 hours. Users should upgrade to versions 2.8.14 or 3.0.0.beta15 to receive a patch. As a workaround, lower `email_token_valid_hours ` as needed.

In version 2.9.0.beta14 of Discourse, an open-source discussion platform, maliciously embedded urls can leak an admin's digest of recent topics, possibly exposing private information. A patch is available for version 2.9.0.beta15. There are no known workarounds for this issue.

Discourse is an option source discussion platform. Prior to version 2.8.14 on the `stable` branch and version 2.9.0.beta15 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, recipients of a group SMTP email could see the email addresses of all other users inside the group SMTP topic. Most of the time this is not an issue as they are likely already familiar with one another's email addresses. This issue is patched in versions 2.8.14 and 2.9.0.beta15. The fix is that someone sending emails out via group SMTP to non-staged users masks those emails with blind carbon copy (BCC). Staged users are ones that have likely only interacted with the group via email, and will likely include other people who were CC'd on the original email to the group. As a workaround, disable group SMTP for any groups that have it enabled.