CVE-2020-16266
MEDIUMCVE-2020-16266 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.4) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in mantisbt/mantisbt. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2020-16266 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
MantisBT XSS issue on the view_all_bug_page.php
Blast Radius
mantisbt/mantisbtReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
An XSS issue was discovered in MantisBT before 2.24.2. Improper escaping on view_all_bug_page.php allows a remote attacker to inject arbitrary HTML into the page by saving it into a text Custom Field, leading to possible code execution in the browser of any user subsequently viewing the issue (if CSP settings allow it).
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | mantisbt/mantisbt | ≥ 2.1.0&&< 2.24.2 | 2.24.2 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for mantisbt/mantisbt. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update mantisbt/mantisbt to 2.24.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-16266 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2020-16266 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2020-16266. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-16266 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2020-16266 across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.