CVE-2023-43657: discourse-encrypt is a plugin that provides a secure communication channel through Discourse. Improper escaping of encrypted topic titles could lead t...

Description

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.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

6.1/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

EPSS Probability

0.49%

38.4th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-79

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Discourse	Discourse-Encrypt	< 2023-09-28

References

Timeline

Published: Sep 28, 2023
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-43657?

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.

How severe is CVE-2023-43657?

CVE-2023-43657 has a CVSS score of 6.1/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.49% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2023-43657?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.