CVE-2022-3978 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.3) CWE-863 vulnerability in nodebb. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for nodebb — see the affected versions and patch details below.
NodeBB abort cross-site request forgery
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-3978.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.
nodebbnpmDescription
A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, was found in NodeBB up to 2.5.7. This affects an unknown part of the file /register/abort. The manipulation leads to cross-site request forgery. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. Upgrading to version 2.5.8 is able to address this issue. The name of the patch is 2f9d8c350e54543f608d3d4c8e1a49bbb6cdea38. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component. The associated identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-213555.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | nodebb | all versions | 2.5.8npm install nodebb@2.5.8 |
Affected Products
nodebbnodebbResearch 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 nodebb, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update nodebb to 2.5.8 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-3978 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-3978 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.