CVE-2022-23598 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in laminas/laminas-form. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for laminas/laminas-form — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Reflected XSS vulnerability when rendering error messages in laminas-form
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-23598.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-23598 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,386 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
laminas/laminas-form🐘laminas/laminas-form🐘laminas/laminas-formReal-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
Impact
When rendering validation error messages via the formElementErrors() view helper shipped with laminas-form, many messages will contain the submitted value. However, in vulnerable versions of laminas-form, the value was not being escaped for HTML contexts, which can potentially lead to a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attack.
Patches
The following versions were issued to mitigate the vulnerability:
- 2.17.1
- 3.0.2
- 3.1.1
Workarounds
At the top of a view script where you call the formElementErrors() view helper, place the following code:
use Laminas\Form\ElementInterface;
use Laminas\View\PhpRenderer;
$escapeMessages = function (ElementInterface $formOrElement, PhpRenderer $renderer): void {
$messages = $element->getMessages();
if (! $messages) {
return;
}
$escaped = [];
array_walk_recursive(
$messages,
static function (string $item) use (&$escaped, $renderer): void {
$escaped[] = $renderer->escapeHtml($item);
}
};
$element->setMessages($escaped);
};
Before calling formElementErrors() with a form, fieldset, or element, call the above closure as follows
// Usage with a form
// $this is the view renderer
$escapeMessages($form, $this);
// Usage with a fieldset
// $this is the view renderer
$escapeMessages($fieldset, $this);
// Usage with a form element
// $this is the view renderer
$escapeMessages($element, $this);
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue
- Email us at [email protected]
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | laminas/laminas-form | ≥ 3.1.0&&< 3.1.1 | 3.1.1composer require laminas/laminas-form:^3.1.1 |
| 🐘Packagist | laminas/laminas-form | ≥ 3.0.0&&< 3.0.2 | 3.0.2composer require laminas/laminas-form:^3.0.2 |
| 🐘Packagist | laminas/laminas-form | all versions | 2.17.1composer require laminas/laminas-form:^2.17.1 |
Affected Products
fedorafedoraprojectlaminas-formgetlaminasResearch 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 laminas/laminas-form, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update laminas/laminas-form to 3.1.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-23598 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-23598 in your dependencies?
Find it across Packagist, including transitive dependencies.