CVE-2022-28508 — mantisbt/mantisbt
MEDIUMCVE-2022-28508 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in mantisbt/mantisbt. 3 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.
MantisBT vulnerable to XSS via unescaped output in browser_search_plugin.php
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-28508 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
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 browser_search_plugin.php in MantisBT before 2.25.2. Unescaped output of the return parameter allows an attacker to inject code into a hidden input field.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | mantisbt/mantisbt | all versions | No fix |
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, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
No patched version of mantisbt/mantisbt has shipped for CVE-2022-28508 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2022-28508 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-28508. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect CVE-2022-28508
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2022-28508 -u https://target- Template
- MantisBT < 2.25.2 - Cross-Site Scripting
- Severity
- medium
- Impact
- Successful exploitation allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of a victim's browser,potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or phishing attacks.
- Remediation
- Upgrade to MantisBT version 2.25.2 or later which contains the fix for this vulnerability.If upgrading is not immediately possible, restrict access to the browser_search_plugin.php endpoint.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (ritikchaddha), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-28508 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-28508 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.