How severe is CVE-2018-18623?

CVE-2018-18623 has a CVSS score of 6.1/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2018-18623?

CVE-2018-18623 affects the following packages: github.com/grafana/grafana (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2018-18623?

Update github.com/grafana/grafana to 6.0.0-beta1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-18623 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2018-18623 in my Go dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/grafana/grafana, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2018-18623 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.

Is CVE-2018-18623 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 2 known exploit references for CVE-2018-18623, including 2 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2018-18623?

CVE-2018-18623 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.8%, placing it in the 79th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2018-18623?

CVE-2018-18623 is classified as Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (CWE-79). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2018-18623 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2018-18623 was published on June 2, 2020 and was last updated on October 20, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐹

🐹 Go

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2018-18623 — grafana

MEDIUMFix: grafana/grafana#11813

CVE-2018-18623 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in github.com/grafana/grafana. 2 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for github.com/grafana/grafana — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Grafana XSS in Dashboard Text Panel

Also known asGHSA-cmq2-j8v8-2q44GO-2022-0342

Published

Jun 2, 2020

Updated

Oct 20, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

2 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 31, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.8%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs79th percentile — riskier than 79% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🐹github.com/grafana/grafana

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Grafana 5.3.1 has XSS via the "Dashboard > Text Panel" screen. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2018-12099.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/grafana/grafana`	all versions	6.0.0-beta1`go get github.com/grafana/grafana@v6.0.0-beta1`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

grafanagrafana

1 version

5.3.1

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

Grafana 5.3.1 has XSS via the "Dashboard > Text Panel" screen. NOTE: thi…

github.comNVDJun 2020

Report on github.com

github.comNVDMar 2022

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/grafana/grafana, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/grafana/grafana to 6.0.0-beta1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-18623 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatModerate

While OpenShift 3.11 grafana-container packages a vulnerable version of grafana, the dashboard is set to read-only meaning that the vulnerable component cannot be added or modified to contain the potential XSS. As the OpenShift version still packages vulnerable code, the impact is set Low.

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat Ceph Storage 3.2	`grafana-0:5.2.4-1.el7cp`	RHSA-2019:0019

Frequently Asked Questions

Grafana 5.3.1 has XSS via the "Dashboard > Text Panel" screen. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2018-12099.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2018-18623 in your dependencies?

Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

6.1/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Changed

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

None

Raw vector

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

CWE Classification

CWE-79Cross-site Scripting (XSS)

Weaponization

No Nuclei template or Metasploit module yet. 2 public proof-of-concept references are listed on this page.

OpenSSF Scorecard

Package health score

grafana

7.0/10

Code-Review10/10

Maintained10/10

Branch-ProtectionN/A

Assessed Oct 26, 2026

Timeline

Disclosed

Jun 2, 2020

First exploit

Jun 8, 2020

6 days after disclosure — rapid exploitation

Last updated

Oct 20, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2018-18623

GHSA-cmq2-j8v8-2q44

GO-2022-0342

References

Advisorygithub.com · v6.0.0 Advisorysecurity.netapp.com · ntap 20200608 0008 Advisorynvd.nist.gov · CVE 2018 18623 Webgithub.com Webgithub.com Websecurity.netapp.com · ntap 20200608 0008 Evidencegithub.com Evidencegithub.com

Related vulnerabilities

This CVE is medium severity; 7 of 8 other CVEs affecting grafana are rated as high or higher (top: high).

CVE-2026-42127CVE-2026-10601CVE-2026-9029CVE-2026-42129CVE-2026-33380CVE-2026-33381CVE-2026-21727CVE-2026-27877

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedOct 20, 2026