Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-42345 is a cross-site scripting issue in Alkacon OpenCms before version 16. An attacker could potentially cause a user to run malicious script in their browser if the user interacts with a crafted page or link. Impact is limited but can affect user sessions and content integrity.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority CMS security issue. Remediate in the normal vulnerability management cycle, with faster action for externally reachable OpenCms systems or systems used by privileged content administrators.
Technical view
The CVE describes CWE-79 XSS via updateModelGroups.jsp in OpenCms before 16. CVSS 3.1 is 6.1: network reachable, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, changed scope, low confidentiality and integrity impact, no availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to organizations running Alkacon OpenCms versions before 16, particularly where OpenCms administrative or authoring functions are reachable by users or the internet. The provided CVE data does not include CPEs or detailed deployment conditions.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed as KEV in the provided data, and no cited source states active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction, so phishing or social engineering is a plausible context, but specific attack details are not provided in the source bundle.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse. The CVE record provides the vulnerable component, version boundary, CWE, and CVSS. The affected product fields are not populated with CPEs. The referenced watchTowr article should be reviewed for context, but the bundle does not provide detailed exploit status or vendor patch notes.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Alkacon OpenCms deployments and identify versions before 16.
- Review Alkacon/OpenCms vendor guidance for the appropriate fixed release or workaround.
- Prioritize upgrade planning for internet-facing or broadly accessible OpenCms instances.
- Restrict access to administrative or authoring interfaces where operationally possible.
- Apply standard browser and session-hardening controls for privileged CMS users.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether OpenCms is deployed in the environment.
- Check deployed OpenCms versions and flag any version before 16.
- Identify whether updateModelGroups.jsp is reachable in exposed OpenCms deployments.
- Review web access logs for unusual requests to updateModelGroups.jsp.
- Use authorized vulnerability scanning or application testing to verify remediation.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-42345 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N2.82.7CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.1MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://labs.watchtowr.com/xxe-you-can-depend-on-me-opencms/CVE reference, mitre
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.